CMQ 


i if 


ETHAN  ALLEN 


IRobiu  tooofc  of  IDermont 


BY 

HENRY    HALL 


\UOiS   CT    T'CCNDEROG/ 


NEW    YORK 
D.   APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1895 


COPYRIGHT,  1892, 
BY  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


PREFACE. 


AT  the  time  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Henry  Hall, 
in  1889,  the  manuscript  for  this  volume  con 
sisted  of  finished  fragments  and  many  notes. 
It  was  left  in  the  hands  of  his  daughters  to 
complete.  The  purpose  of  the  author  was  to 
make  a  fuller  life  of  Allen  than  has  been  writ 
ten,  and  singling  him  from  that  cluster  of 
sturdy  patriots  in  the  New  Hampshire  Grants, 
to  make  plain  the  vivid  personality  of  a  Ver 
mont  hero  to  the  younger  generations.  Mr. 
Hall's  well-known  habit  of  accuracy  and  pains 
taking  investigation  must  be  the  guaranty  that 
this  "  Life"  is  worthy  of  a  place  among  the  vol 
umes  of  the  history  of  our  nation. 

* 

HENRIETTA  HALL  BOARDMAN. 

M199345 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  ALLEN'S  FAMILY,  i 

CHAPTER  II. 

EARLY  LIFE,  HABITS  OF  THOUGHT,  AND  RELIG 
IOUS  TENDENCIES,  .  .  .  .  .  .12 

CHAPTER  III. 

REMOVAL  TO  VERMONT.— THE  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 
GRANTS, 22 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ALLEN  AND  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. — NEGO 
TIATIONS  BETWEEN  NEW  YORK  AND  THE  NEW 
HAMPSHIRE  GRANTS,  .  .  .  .  -32 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  RAID  UPON  COLONEL  REID'S  SETTLERS. — 
ALLEN'S  OUTLAWRY.  —  CREAN  BRUSH. — 
PHILIP  SKENE, 46 


vi  Contents. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PAGE 

PREPARATIONS  TO  CAPTURE  TICONDEROGA.  — 
DIARY  OF  EDWARD  MOTT.  —  EXPEDITIONS 
PLANNED. —  BENEDICT  ARNOLD. —  GERSHOM 
BEACH, 61 

CHAPTER   VII. 
CAPTURE  OF  TICONDEROGA, 73 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

ALLEN'S  LETTERS  TO  THE  CONTINENTAL  CON 
GRESS,  TO  THE  NEW  YORK  PROVINCIAL  CON 
GRESS,  AND  TO  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  CON- 
GRESS, 8 1 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ALLEN'S  LETTERS  TO  THE  MONTREAL  MERCHANTS, 
TO  THE  INDIANS  IN  CANADA,  AND  TO  THE 
CANADIANS. — JOHN  BROWN 89 

CHAPTER  X. 

WARNER  ELECTED  COLONEL  OF  THE  GREEN  MOUN 
TAIN  BOYS. — ALLEN'S  LETTER  TO  GOVERNOR 
TRUMBULL. — CORRESPONDENCE  IN  REGARD  TO 
THE  INVASION  OF  CANADA. — ATTACK  ON  MON 
TREAL. — DEFEAT  AND  CAPTURE. — WARNER  s 
REPORT,  .  .  .  .  .'•...  98 


Contents.  vii 

CHAPTER  XL 

PAGE 

ALLEN'S  NARRATIVE. — ATTACK  ON  MONTREAL. — 
DEFEAT  AND  SURRENDER. — BRUTAL  TREAT 
MENT. — ARRIVAL  IN  ENGLAND. — DEBATES  IN 
PARLIAMENT, no 

CHAPTER  XII. 

LIFE  IN  PENDENNIS  CASTLE. — LORD  NORTH. — 
ON  BOARD  THE  "  SOLEBAY." — ATTENTIONS 
RECEIVED  IN  IRELAND  AND  MADEIRA,  .  .128 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

RENDEZVOUS  AT  CAPE  FEAR. — SICKNESS. — HALI 
FAX  JAIL. — LETTER  TO  GENERAL  MASSEY. — 
VOYAGE  TO  NEW  YORK. — ON  PAROLE,  .  .  144 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

RELEASE  FROM  PRISON. — WITH  WASHINGTON  AT 
VALLEY  FORGE. — THE  HALDIMAND  CORRE 
SPONDENCE 162 

CHAPTER  XV. 

VERMONT'S  TREATMENT  BY  CONGRESS. — ALLEN'S 
LETTERS  TO  COLONEL  WEBSTER  AND  TO  CON 
GRESS. — REASONS  FOR  BELIEVING  ALLEN  A 
PATRIOT, 173 


viii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

PAGE 

ALLEN  WITH  GATES.— AT  BENNINGTON. — DAVID 
REDDING. — REPLY  TO  CLINTON. — EMBASSIES 
TO  CONGRESS. — COMPLAINT  AGAINST  BROTH 
ER  LEVI. — ALLEN  IN  COURT,  .  .  .  .183 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

ALLEN  AT  GUILFORD. — "  ORACLES  OF  REASON." — 
JOHN  STARK. — ST.  JOHN  DE  CREVECCEUR. — 
HONORS  TO  ALLEN. — SHAY'S  REBELLION. — 
SECOND  MARRIAGE 191 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

DEATH. — CIVILIZATION  IN  ALLEN'S  TIME. — ESTI 
MATES  OF  ALLEN. — RELIGIOUS  FEELING  IN 
VERMONT. — MONUMENTS,  .  .  .  .198 


ETHAN    ALLEN. 


CHAPTER   I. 

AN    ACCOUNT    OF    HIS    FAMILY. 

ETHAN  ALLEN  is  the  Robin  Hood  of  Ver 
mont.  As  Robin  Hood's  life  was  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  protest  against  Norman  despotism,  so 
Allen's  life  was  a  protest  against  domestic  rob 
bery  and  foreign  tyranny.  As  Sherwood  For 
est  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  gallant  and 
chivalrous  Robin  Hood,  so  the  Green  Moun 
tains  were  the  home  of  the  dauntless  and  high- 
minded  Ethan  Allen.  As  Robin  Hood,  in 
Scott's  "Ivanhoe,"  so  does  Allen,  in  Thomp 
son's  "Green  Mountain  Boys,"  win  our 
admiration.  Although  never  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  he  is  one  of  the  heroes  of  the 
state  and  the  nation;  one  of  those  whose 
names  the  people  will  not  willingly  let  die. 
History  and  tradition,  song  and  story,  sculpt- 


2  Ethan  Allen. 

lire,  engraving,  and  photography  alike  blazon 
his  memory  from  ocean  to  ocean.  The  libra 
rian  of  the  great  library  at  Worcester,  Mas 
sachusetts,  told  Colonel  Higginson  that  the 
book  most  read  was  Daniel  P.  Thompson's 
"Green  Mountain  Boys."  Already  one  cen 
tennial  celebration  of  the  capture  of  Ticonder- 
oga  has  been  celebrated.  Who  can  tell  how 
many  future  anniversaries  of  that  capture  our 
nation  will  live  to  see !  Another  reason  for  re 
freshing  our  memories  with  the  history  of  Allen 
is  the  bitterness  with  which  he  is  attacked. 
/  He  has  been  accused  of  ignorance,  weakness 
•  of  mind,  cowardice,  infidelity,  and  atheism. 
Among  his  assailants  have  been  the  presi' 
dent  of  a  college,  a  clergyman,  editors,  con 
tributors  to  magazines  and  newspapers,  and 
even  a  local  historian  among  a  variety  of 
writers  of  greater  or  less  prominence.  If 
Vermont  is  careful  of  her  own  fame,  well 
does  it  become  the  people  to  know  whether 
Ethan  Allen  was  a  hero  or  a  humbug. 
-  Arnold  calls  history  the  vast  Mississippi  of 
falsehood.  The  untruths  that  have  been 
published  about  Allen  during  the  last  hundred 
and  fifteen  years  might  not  fill  and  overflow 
the  Ohio  branch  of  such  a  Mississippi,  but 


An  Account  of  His  Family.  3 

they  would  make  a  lively  rivulet  run  until  it 
was  dammed  by  its  own  silt.  The  late  Benja 
min  Disraeli,  Lord  Beaconsfield,  fought  a 
duel  with  Daniel  O'Connell,  because  O'Connell 
declared  it  to  be  his  belief  that  Disraeli  was 
a  lineal  descendant  of  the  impenitent  thief  on 
the  Cross.  Perhaps  the  libellers  of  Allen  are 
descended  from  the  Yorkers  whom  he  stamped 
so  ignominiously  with  the  beech  seal.  The 
fierce  light  of  publicity  perhaps  never  beat 
upon  a  throne  more  sharply  than  for  more  than 
a  hundred  years  it  has  beat  upon  Ethan  Allen. 
His  patriotism,  courage,  religious  belief,  and 
general  character  have  been  travestied  and 
caricatured  until  now  the  real  man  has  to  be 
dug  up  from  heaps  of  untruthful  rubbish,  as 
the  peerless  Apollo  Belvidere  was  dug  in  the 
days  of  Columbus  from  the  ruins  of  classic 
Antium. 

Discrepancies  exist  even  in  regard  to  his 
age.  On  the  stone  tablet  over  his  grave  his 
age  is  given  as  fifty  years.  Thompson  said  his 
age  was  fifty-two.  At  the  unveiling  of  his 
statue,  he  was  called  thirty-eight  years  old 
when  Ticonderoga  was  taken.  These  three 
statements  are  erroneous,  and,  strange  to  say, 
Burlington  is  responsible  for  them  all  Bur- 


4  Ethan  Allen. 

lington,  the  Athens  of  Vermont,  the  town 
wherein  rest  his  ashes,  the  town  wherein  most 
of  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  were  passed, 
and  the  town  that  has  done  most  to  honor  his 
memory. 

However  humiliating  it  may  be  to  state 
pride,  it  is  probable  that  the  Aliens,  centuries 
ago,  were  no  more  respectable  than  the  ances 
tors  of  Queen  Victoria  and  the  oldest  British 
peers.  The  different  ways  of  spelling  the 
name,  Alleyn,  Alain,  Allein,  and  Allen,  seem 
to  indicate  a  Norman  origin.  George  Allen, 
professor  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
says  that  Alain  had  command  of  the  rear  of 
William  the  Conqueror's  army  at  the  battle  of 
Hastings  in  1066. 

Joseph  Allen,  the  father  of  Ethan,  comes  to 
the  surface  of  history  about  the  year  1720,  one 
year  after  the  death  of  Addison  and  the  first 
publication  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe,"  in  the  town 
of  Coventry,  in  Eastern  Connecticut,  twenty 
miles  east  of  Hartford.  When  he  first  appears 
to  us  he  is  a  minor  and  an  orphan.  His 
widowed  mother,  Mercy,  has  several  children, 
one  of  them  of  age.  Their  first  recorded  act 
is  emigration  fifty  miles  westward  to  Litch- 
field,  famous  for  its  scenery  and  ancient  elms, 


An  Account  of  His  Family.  5 

located  between  the  Naugatuck  and  the  She- 
paug  rivers,  on  the  Green  and  Taconic  moun 
tain  ranges;  famous  also  as  the  place  where 
the  first  American  ladies'  seminary  was  lo 
cated,  and  most  famous  of  all  for  its  renowned 
law-school,  begun  over  a  century  ago  by 
Judge  Tapping  Reeve  and  continued  by  Judge 
James  Gould.  Chief  Justice  John  Pierpoint  and 
United  States  Senator  S.  S.  Phelps  were  among 
its  notable  pupils.  The  widow,  Mercy  Allen, 
died  in  Litchfield,  February  5,  1728.  Her  son 
Joseph  bought  one-third  of  her  real  estate. 
Within  five  years  he  sold  two  tracts,  of  100 
acres  each,  and  fourteen  years  after  his  moth 
er's  death  he  sold  the  residue  as  wild  land. 
On  March  n,  1737,  Joseph  Allen  was  married 
to  Mary  Baker,  daughter  of  John  Baker,  of 
Woodbury,  sister  of  Remember  Baker,  who 
was  father  of  the  Remember  Baker  that  came 
to  Vermont.  Thus  Ethan  Allen  and  Remem 
ber  Baker  were  cousins. 

Ethan  Allen  was  born  January  10,  1737, 
and  died  February  21,  1789,  and  consequently 
he  has  been  said  to  have  been  fifty-two  years, 
one  month  and  two  days  old.  In  fact,  he  was 
fifty-one  years,  one  month  and  two  days  old. 
The  year  1737  terminated  March  24.  Had  it 


6  Ethan  Allen. 

closed  December  31,  Allen  would  have  been 
born  in  1738.  The  first  day  of  the  year  was 
March  25  until  1752  in  England  and  her  colo 
nies.  In  1751  the  British  Parliament  changed 
New  Year's  Day  from  March  25  to  January  i. 
The  year  1751  had  no  January,  no  February, 
and  only  seven  days  of  March.  Allen  was 
thirteen  years  old  in  1750,  and  was  fourteen 
years  old  in  1752. 

The  year  1738  gave  birth  to  three  honest 
men — Ethan  Allen,  George  III.,  and  Benjamin 
West.  In  1738  George  Washington  was  six 
years  old,  John  Adams  three  years  old,  John 
Stark  ten  years  old,  Israel  Putnam  twenty 
years  old.  Seth  Warner  and  Jefferson  were 
born  five  years  later.  In  that  year  no  claim 
had  ever  been  made  to  Vermont  by  New  York 
or  New  Hampshire.  No  one  had  ever  ques 
tioned  the  right  of  Massachusetts  to  the  Eng 
lish  part  of  Vermont.  New  Hampshire  was 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Merrimac.  Col- 
den,  the  surveyor-general  of  New  York,  in 
an  official  report  bounded  New  York  on  the 
east  by  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  on 
the  north  by  Lake  Ontario  and  Canada; 
Canada  occupying  Crown  Point  and  Chimney 
Point. 


An  Account  of  His  Family.  7 

If  by  waving  a  magician's  wand  the  Eng 
lish-American  colonies  on  the  Atlantic  slope, 
as  they  existed  in  1738,  could  pass  before  us, 
wherein  would  the  tableau  differ  from  that  of 
to-day?  West  of  the  Alleghanies  there  were 
the  Indians  and  the  French.  On  the  north 
were  50,000  prosperous  French,  farmers  chief 
ly  along  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  from 
Montreal  to  Quebec.  On  the  east,  Acadie,  in 
cluding  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and  a 
part  of  Maine,  was  Scotch.  Florida  was 
Spanish.  From  Georgia  to  Maine  were  1,500,- 
ooo  English- Americans  and  400,000  African- 
Americans.  The  colony  of  New  York  had  a 
population  of  60,100.  New  Hampshire,  con 
sisting  of  a  few  thousand  settlers,  was  located 
north  and  east  of  the  Merrimac,  and  had  a  leg 
islature  of  its  own,  but  no  governor.  Massa 
chusetts,  with  its  charters  from  James  I.  and 
Charles  I.,  claimed  the  country  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  exercised  ownership  between  the 
Merrimac  and  Connecticut  and  west  of  the  Con 
necticut,  without  a  breath  of  opposition  from 
any  mortal.  Massachusetts  had  sold  land  as 
her  own  which  she  found  to  be  in  Connecticut, 
and  she  paid  that  state  for  it  by  granting  her 
many  thousand  acres  in  three  of  the  southeast- 


8  Ethan  Allen. 

ern  townships  of  Vermont.  She  built  and  sus 
tained  a  fort  in  Brattleboro',  kept  a  garrison 
there  with  a  salaried  chaplain,  salaried  resident 
Indian  commissioner,  and  she  established  a 
store  supplied  with  provisions,  groceries,  and 
goods  suitable  for  trade  with  frontiersmen  and 
the  Indians  of  Canada.  Bartering  was  actively 
carried  on  along  the  Connecticut  River,  Black 
River,  Otter  Creek,  and  Lake  Champlain.  In 
1737  a, solemn  ratification  of  the  old  treaty  oc 
curred  there;  speeches  were  made,  presents 
given,  and  the  healths  of  George  II.  and  Gover 
nor  Belcher,  of  Massachusetts,  were  duly  drunk. 
There  was  no  Anglo-Saxon  settlement  in  Ver 
mont  outside  of  Brattleboro'.  In  Pownal  were 
a  few  families  of  Dutch  squatters.  The  Indian 
village  of  St.  Francis,  midway  between  Mon 
treal  and  Quebec,  peopled  partly  by  New  Eng 
land  refugees  from  King  Philip's  war  of  1676, 
exercised  supreme  control  over  northeastern 
Vermont. 

In  all  the  land  were  only  three  colleges: 
Harvard,  one  hundred  and  two  years  old, 
Yale,  thirty-seven,  and  William  and  Mary, 
forty-five. 

Ethan  Allen  had  five  brothers,  Heman, 
Heber,  Levi,  Zimri,  and  Ira,  and  two  sisters, 


An  Account  of  His  Family.  9 

Lydia  and  Lucy.  Of  all  our  early  heroes,  few 
glide  before  us  with  a  statelier  step  or  more 
beneficent  mien  than  Heman  Allen,  the  old 
est  brother  of  Ethan.  Born  in  Cornwall,  Con 
necticut,  October  15,1 740,  dying  in  Salisbury, 
Connecticut,  May  18,  1778,  his  life  of  thirty- 
seven  and  a  half  years  was  like  that  of  the 
Chevalier  Bayard,  without  fear  and  without 
reproach.  A  man  of  affairs,  a  merchant  and 
a  soldier,  a  politician  and  a  land-owner,  a 
diplomat  and  a  statesman,  he  was  capable,  in 
telligent,  honest,  earnest,  and  true.  But  fifteen 
years  old  when  his  father  died,  he  was  early  en 
gaged  in  trade  at  Salisbury.  His  home  became 
the  home  of  his  widowed  mother  and  her  large 
family.  Salisbury  was  his  home  and  probably 
his  legal  residence,  although  he  represented 
Rutland  and  Colchester  in  the  Vermont  Con 
ventions,  and  was  sent  to  Congress  by  Dorset. 

Heber  was  the  first  town  clerk  of  Poultney. 

Ira  was  able,  shrewd,  and  gentlemanly;  a 
land  surveyor  and  speculator,  a  lieutenant  in 
Warner's  regiment,  a  member  of  all  the  con 
ventions  of  1776  and  1777,  of  the  Councils  of 
Safety  and  of  the  State  Council;  state  treas 
urer,  surveyor-general,  author  of  a  "  History 
of  "  Vermont,  and  of  various  official  papers  and 


io  Ethan  Allen. 

political  pamphlets.  In  1796  lie  bought,  in 
France,"  twenty-four  brass  cannon  and  twenty 
thousand  muskets,  ostensibly  for  the  Vermont 
militia,  which  were  seized  by  the  English. 
After  a  lawsuit  of  seven  or  eight  years  he  re 
gained  them,  but  the  expense  beggared  him. 
He  died  in  Philadelphia,  January  7,  1814,  aged 
sixty-three  years. 

Levi  Allen  joined  in  the  expedition  to  capt 
ure  Ticonderoga,  became  Tory,  and  was  com 
plained  of  by  his  brother  Ethan  as  follows : 


BENNINGTON  COUNTY,^..- 

ARLINGTON,  9  January,  1779. 
To  the  Hon.  the  Court  of  Confiscation,  comes 
Col.  Ethan  Allen,  in  the  name  of  the  freemen 
of  the  state,  and  complaint  makes  that  Levi 
Allen,  late  of  Salisbury  in  Connecticut,  is  of  Tory 
principles  and  holds  in  fee  sundry  tracts  and  par 
cels  of  land  in  this  State.  The  said  Levi,  has 
been  detected  in  endeavoring  to  supply  the  enemy 
on  Long  Island;  and  in  attempting  to  circulate 
counterfeit  continental  money,  and  is  guilty  of 
holding  treasonable  correspondence  with  the  en 
emy  under  cover  of  doing  favors  to  me  when  a 
prisoner  at  New  York  and  Long  Island;  and  in 
talking  and  using  influence  in  favor  of  the  enemy, 
associating  with  inimical  persons  to  this  country, 
and  with  them  monopolizing  the  necessaries  of 


An  Account  of  His  Family.  n 

life;  in  endeavoring  to  lessen  the  credit  of  the 
continental  currency,  and  in  particular  hath  ex 
erted  himself  in  the  most  fallacious  manner  to  in 
jure  the  property  and  character  of  some  of  the 
most  zealous  friends  to  the  independence  of  the 
U.  S.  and  of  this  State  likewise :  all  which  inimi 
cal  conduct  is  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the 
freemen  of  this  State.  I  therefore  pray  the  Hon. 
Court  to  take  the  matter  under  their  consideration 
and  make  confiscation  of  the  estate  of  said  Levi 
before  mentioned,  according  to  the  laws  and  cus 
toms  of  this  State,  in  such  case  made  and  provided. 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 

Levi  died  while  in  jail,  for  debt,  at  Burling 
ton,  Vermont,  in  i 80 i. 

Zimri  lived  and  died  in  Sheffield. 

Lydia  married  a  Mr.  Finch,  and  lived  and 
died  in  Goshen,  Connecticut. 

Lucy  married  a  Dr.  Beebee,  and  lived  and 
died  in  Sheffield. 


CHAPTER    II. 

EARLY    LIFE,    HABITS    OF    THOUGHT,    AND    RELIGIOUS 
TENDENCIES. 

THE  life  of  Allen  may  be  divided  into  four 
periods:  the  first  thirty-one  years  before  he 
came  to  Vermont  (1738-1769),  the  six  years  in 
Vermont  before  his  captivity  (1769-1775),  the 
two  years  and  eight  months  of  captivity  (1775- 
1778),  and  the  eleven  years  in  Vermont  after 
his  captivity  (1778-1789). 

When  he  was  two  years  old  the  family  moved 
into  Cornwall.  There  his  brothers  and  sisters 
were  born,  there  his  father  died,  there  Ethan 
lived  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  old. 
When  seventeen  he  was  fitting  for  college  with 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Lee,  of  Salisbury.  His  father's 
death  put  an  end  to  his  studies.  This  was  in 
1755,  when  the  French  and  Indian  war  was 
raging  along  Lakes  George  and  Champlain, 
a  war  which  lasted  until  Allen's  twenty-third 
year.  Some  of  the  early  settlers  of  Vermont, 
Samuel  Robinson,  Joseph  Bowker,  and  others, 

12 


Early  Life  and  Habits.  13 

took  part  in  this  war.  Not  so  Allen.  There 
is  no  intimation  that  he  hungered  for  a 
soldier's  life  in  his  youth.  His  usual  means 
of  earning  a  livelihood  for  himself  and  his 
widowed  mother's  family  is  supposed  to  have 
been  agriculture. 

William  Cothrens,  in  his  "  History  of  An 
cient  Woodbury,"  tells  us  that  in  January,  1 762, 
Allen,  with  three  others,  entered  into  the  iron 
business  in  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  and  built 
a  furnace.  In  June  of  that  year  he  returned 
to  Roxbury,  and  married  Mary  Brownson,  a 
maiden  five  years  older  than  himself.  The 
marriage  fee  was  four  shillings,  or  sixty -seven 
cents.  By  this  wife  he  had  five  children: 
one  son,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eleven,  while 
Ethan  was  a  captive,  and  four  daughters. 
Two  died  unmarried ;  one  married  Eleazer  W. 
Keyes,  of  Burlington;  the  other  married  the 
Hon.  Samuel  Hitchcock,  of  Burlington,  and 
was  the  mother  of  General  Ethan  Allen 
Hitchcock,  U.  S.  A. 

Allen  resided  with  his  family  first  at  Salis 
bury  and  afterward  at  Sheffield,  the  southwest 
corner  town  of  Massachusetts.  For  six  miles 
the  boundary  line  of  the  two  states  is  the 
boundary  line  of  the  two  towns.  In  these 


14  Ethan  Allen. 

towns  the  families  of  Ethan  Allen  and  his 
brothers  and  sisters  lived  many  years.  Two 
years  after  moving  to  Salisbury  he  bought 
two  and  a  half  acres,  or  one-sixteenth  part 
of  a  tract  of  land  on  Mine  Hill,  an  eleva 
tion  of  350  feet  in  Roxbury,  containing,  it  is 
said,  the  most  remarkable  deposit  of  spathic 
iron  ore  in  the  United  States.  Immense  sums 
of  money  were  expended  in  vain  attempts  to 
work  it  as  a  silver  mine.  Two  years  after 
Allen  began  his  Vermont  life  he  still  owned 
land  in  Judea  Society,  a  part  of  the  present 
town  of  Washington.  The  details  and  finan 
cial  results  of  these  business  undertakings  are 
not  furnished  us.  They  indicate  enterprise,  if 
nothing  more.  Carrying  on  a  farm,  casting 
iron  ware,  and  working  a  mine,  not  military 
affairs,  seem  to  have  been  the  avenues  wherein 
Allen  developed  his  executive-  ability  during 
his  early  manhood. 

What  were  his  educational  facilities,  his  so 
cial  privileges,  and  his  religious  views  during 
this  formative  period  of  his  life?  Ira  Allen, 
in  1795,  writes  to  Dr.  S.  Williams,  the  early 
historian  of  Vermont,  that  when  his  father, 
Joseph  Allen,  died,  his  brother  Ethan  was  pre 
paring  for  college,  and  that  the  death  of  his 


Early  Life  and  Habits.  15 

father  obliged  Ethan  to  discontinue  his  clas 
sical  studies.  Mr.  Jehial  Johns,  of  Hunting- 
ton,  told  the  Rev.  Zadock  Thompson  that  he 
knew  Ethan  Allen  in  Connecticut,  and.,  was 
very  certain  that  Allen  spent  some  time  study 
ing  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lee,  of  Salisbury,  with 
the  view  of  fitting  himself  for  college.  The 
widow  of  Judge  Samuel  Hitchcock,  of  Burling 
ton,  told  Mr.  Thompson  that  Ethan's  attend 
ance  at  school  did  not  exceed  three  months. 
Ira  Allen  writes  General  Haldimand  in  July, 
1781,  that  his  brother  Ethan  has  resigned  his 
Brigadier-Generalship  in  the  Vermont  militia, 
and  "returned  to  his  old  studies,  philosophy." 
To  what  period  in  Ethan's  life  does  the  phrase 
"old  studies"  refer?  It  could  not  be  his  life 
after  the  captivity,  during  his  five  years'  col 
lisions  with  the  Yorkers,  but  the  period  we 
are  now  considering.  Heman  Allen's  widow, 
when  Mrs.  Wadhams,  told  Zadock  Thompson 
that  one  summer  when  he  was  residing  in  her 
house  he  passed  almost  all  the  time  in  writing. 
She  did  not  know  what  was  the  subject  of  his 
study,  but  on  one  occasion  she  called  him  to 
dinner,  and  he  said  he  was  very  sorry  she  had 
called  him  so  soon,  for  he  had  "  got  clear  up 
into  the  upper  regions."  Allen  himself  says: 


1 6  Ethan  Allen. 

In  my  youth  I  was  much  disposed  to  contempla 
tion,  and  at  my  commencement  in  manhood  I  com 
mitted  to  manuscript  such  sentiments  or  arguments 
as  appeared  most  consonant  to  reason,  lest  through 
the  debility  of  memory,  my  improvement  should 
have  been  less  gradual.  This  method  of  scrib 
bling  I  practised  for  many  years,  from  which  I 
experienced  great  advantages  in  the  progression 
of  learning  and  knowledge ;  the  more  so  as  I  was 
deficient  in  education  and  had  to  acquire  the 
knowledge  of  grammar  and  language,  as  well  as 
the  art  of  reasoning,  principally  from  a  studious 
application  to  it;  which  after  all,  I  am  sensible, 
lays  me  under  disadvantages,  particularly  in  mat 
ters  of  composition ;  however,  to  remedy  this  de 
fect  I  have  substituted  the  most  unwearied  pains. 
.  .  .  Ever  since  I  arrived  at  the  state  of  man 
hood  and  acquainted  myself  with  the  general 
history  of  mankind,  I  have  felt  a  sincere  passion 
for  liberty.  The  history  of  nations  doomed  to 
perpetual  slavery  in  consequence  of  yielding  up  to 
tyrants  their  natural-born  liberties,  I  read  with  a 
sort  of  philosophical  horror. 

In  Allen's  youth  great  revivals  were  in 
augurated,  organized,  and  continued  mainly 
by  the  preaching  of  Whitefield,  who  roused 
and  electrified  audiences  of  several  thousands, 
as  men  have  rarely  been  moved  since  the  days 
of  Peter  the  Hermit.  Even  Franklin,  Boling- 
broke,  and  Chesterfield  were  fascinated  by  him. 


Early  Life  and  Habits.  17 

As  for  Allen,  baptized  in  his  infancy,  in  the 
days  when  no  Sabbath-school  blessed  the  race, 
when  the  Westminster  Catechism  and  Watts' 
Hymns  were  in  use  throughout  New  England 
(Isaac  Watts  died  when  Allen  was  eleven  years 
old) ,  living  in  and  near  northwest  Connecticut 
in  as  democratic  and  religious  community  as  the 
world  had  ever  seen,  reading  none  of  the  books 
of  the  Deists,  he  was  fond  of  discussion  and 
delighted  in  writing  out  his  arguments.  Hav 
ing  been  brought  up  an  Armenian  Christian,  in 
contradistinction  to  a  Calvinistic  Christian,  his 
views  in  early  manhood  began  to  change.  One 
picture  of  this  gradual  evolution  he  gives  us 
in  the  following  description : 

The  doctrine  of  imputation  according  to  the 
Christian  scheme  consists  of  two  parts.  First,  of 
imputation  of  the  apostasy  of  Adam  and  Eve  to 
their  posterity,  commonly  called  original  sin; 
and  secondly,  of  the  imputation  of  the  merits  or 
righteousness  of  Christ,  who  in  Scripture  is  called 
the  second  Adam  to  mankind  or  to  the  elect.  This 
is  a  concise  definition  of  the  doctrine,  and  which 
will  undoubtedly  be  admitted  to  be  a  just  one  by 
every  denomination  of  men  who  are  acquainted 
with  Christianity,  whether  they  adhere  to  it  or  not. 

I  therefore  proceed  to  illustrate  and  explain  the 
doctrine  by  transcribing  a  short  but  very  perti- 


1 8  Ethan  Allen. 

nent  conversation  which  in  the  early  days  of  my 
manhood  I  had  with  a  Calvinistic  divine;  but 
previously  remark  that  I  was  educated  in  what 
are  commonly  called  the  Armenian  principles; 
and  among  other  tenets  to  reject  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin ;  this  was  the  point  at  issue  between 
the  clergyman  and  me.  In  my  turn  I  opposed 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin  with  philosophical 
reasonings,  and  as  I  thought  had  confuted  the 
doctrine.  The  Reverend  gentleman  heard  me 
through  patiently:  and  with  candor  replied: 

"  Your  metaphysical  reasonings  are  not  to  the 
purpose,  inasmuch  as  you  are  a  Christian  and  hope 
and  expect  to  be  saved  by  the  imputed  righteous 
ness  of  Christ  to  you ;  for  you  may  as  well  be  im- 
putedly  sinful  as  imputedly  righteous.  Nay, "  said 
he,  "  if  you  hold  to  the  doctrine  of  satisfaction  and 
atonement  by  Christ,  by  so  doing  you  presuppose 
the  doctrine  of  apostasy  or  original  sin  to  be  in 
fact  true;"  for,  said  he,  "  if  mankind  were  not  in  a 
ruined  and  condemned  state  by  nature,  there  could 
have  been  no  need  of  a  Redeemer ;  but  each  indi 
vidual  of  them  would  have  been  accountable  to  his 
Creator  and  Judge,  upon  the  basis  of  his  own 
moral  agency.  Further  observing  that  upon  philo 
sophical  principles  it  was  difficult  to  account  for 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  or  of  original  righteous 
ness;  yet  as  they  were  plain,  fundamental  doc 
trines  of  the  Christian  faith  we  ought  to  assent  to 
the  truth  of  them ;  and  that  from  the  divine  au 
thority  of  revelation.  Notwithstanding,"  said  he, 


Early  Life  and  Habits.  19 

"  if  you  will  give  me  a  philosophical  explanation 
of  origial  imputed  righteousness,  which  you  pro 
fess  to  believe  and  expect  salvation  by,  then  I  will 
return  you  a  philosophical  explanation  of  original 
sin;  for  it  is  plain,"  said  he,  "that  your  objections 
lie  with  equal  weight  against  original  imputed 
righteousness,  as  against  original  imputed  sin. " 

Upon  which  I  had  the  candor  to  acknowledge 
to  the  worthy  ecclesiastic,  that  upon  the  Christian 
plan  I  perceived  the  argument  had  clearly  ter 
minated  against  me.  For  at  that  time  I  dared  not 
to  distrust  the  infallibility  of  revelation;  much 
more  to  dispute  it.  However,  this  conversation 
was  uppermost  in  my  mind  for  several  months 
after;  and  after  many  painful  searches  and  re 
searches  after  the  truth,  respecting  the  doctrine 
of  imputation,  resolved  at  all  events  to  abide  the 
decision  of  rational  argument  in  the  premises; 
and  on  a  full  examination  of  both  parts  of  the 
doctrine,  rejected  the  whole;  for  on  a  fair  scru 
tiny,  I  found  that  I  must  concede  to  it  entirely  or 
not  at  all;  or  else  believe  inconsistently  as  the 
clergyman  had  argued. 

He  relates  also  a  change  from  his  juvenile 
views  of  biblical  history : 

When  I  was  a  boy,  by  one  means  or  other,  I  had 
conceived  a  very  bad  opinion  of  Pharaoh;  he 
seemed  to  me  to  be  a  cruel,  despotic  prince ;  he 
would  not  give  the  Israelites  straw,  but  neverthe 
less,  demanded  of  them  the  full  tale  of  brick ;  for 


2O  Ethan  Allen. 

a  time  he  opposed  God  Almighty ;  but  was  at  last 
luckily  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea;  at  which  event, 
with  other  good  Christians,  I  rejoiced,  and  even 
exulted  at  the  overthrow  of  the  base  and  wicked 
tyrant.  But  after  a  few  years  of  maturity  and  ex 
amination  of  the  history  of  that  monarch  given 
by  Moses,  with  the  before  recited  remarks  of  the 
apostle,  I  conceived  a  more  favorable  opinion  of 
him;  inasmuch  as  we  are  told  that  God  raised 
him  up  and  hardened  his  heart,  and  predestinated 
his  reign,  his  wickedness,  and  his  overthrow. 

In  1782  lie  says: 

In  the  circle  of  my  acquaintance  (which  has  not 
been  small) ,  I  have  generally  been  denominated  a 
Deist,  the  reality  of  which  I  never  disputed ;  be 
ing  conscious  I  am  no  Christian,  except  mere 
infant  baptism  makes  me  one ;  and  as  to  being  a 
Deist,  I  know  not,  strictly  speaking,  whether  I  am 
one  or  not,  for  I  have  never  read  their  writings. 

We  are  told  that  Allen  in  his  early  life  was 
very  intimate  with  Dr.  Thomas  Young,  the 
man  who  supplied  the  state  with  its  name, 
"  Vermont, "  in  April,  1 777,  and  who  so  strongly 
encouraged  it  to  assert  its  independence.  One 
of  the  most  noted  characteristics  of  Ethan,  his 
fondness  for  the  society  of  able  men,  is  illus 
trated  in  his  association  with  Young. 

Dr.  Young, who  was  a  distinguished  citizen  of 


Early  Life  and  Habits.  21 

Philadelphia,  was  on  most  of  the  Whig  commit 
tees  in  Boston,  before  the  Revolution,  with 
James  Otis,  Samuel  Adams,  Joseph  Warren, 
and  others.  He  and  Adams  addressed  the 
great  public  meeting  on  the  day  "  when  Boston 
harbor  was  black  with  unexpected  tea."  He 
was  a  neighbor  of  Allen,  living  in  the  Oblong, 
in  Dutchess  County,  while  Allen  lived  in  Salis 
bury.  Afterward  he  lived  in  Albany,  and  died 
in  Philadelphia  in  the  third  year  of  Allen's 
captivity.  He  was  influential  in  causing  Ver 
mont  to  adopt  the  constitution  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  Oblong,  Salisbury  and  vicinity,  abound 
ed  in  free  thinkers.  Young  and  Allen  opposed 
President  Edwards'  famous  theological  tenets, 
the  latter  spending  much  time  in  Young's 
house, and  it  was  generally  understood  that  they 
were  preparing  for  publication  a  book  in  support 
of  sceptical  principles ;  the  two  agreeing  that 
the  one  that  outlived  the  other  should  publish 
it.  Allen,  on  going  to  Vermont,  left  his  manu 
scripts  with  Young,  and  on  his  release  from 
captivity  after  Young's  death  obtained  from 
the  latter's  family,  who  had  gone  back  to 
Dutchess  County,  both  his  own  and  Young's 
manuscripts,  and  these  were  the  originals  of 
his  "Oracles  of  Reason." 


CHAPTER  III. 

REMOVAL    TO    VERMONT. THE    NEW     HAMPSHIRE 

GRANTS. 

ALLEN  came  to  Vermont,  probably,  in  1 769, 
a  year  memorable  for  the  founding  of  Dart 
mouth  College  and  for  the  birth  of  four  of 
earth's  renowned  men :  two  soldiers,  Welling 
ton  and  Napoleon;  two  scholars,  Cuvier  and 
Humboldt. 

In  the  early  history  of  Vermont,  one  of  its 
prominent  judges  speculated  extensively  in 
Green  Mountain  wild  lands.  The  aggregate 
result  of  these  speculations  was  disastrous. 
Attending  a  session  of  the  legislature,  the 
judge  was  called  upon  by  a  committee  for  his 
advice  in  reference  to  suitable  penalties  for 
some  crime.  He  replied,  advising  for  the  first 
offence  a  fine;  for  the  second,  imprisonment; 
and  if  the  criminal  should  prove  such  a  har 
dened  offender,  such  a  veteran  in  vice  as  to  be 
guilty  the  third  time,  he  recommended  that 
the  scoundrel  should  be  compelled  to  receive 

22 


Removal  to  Vermont.  23 

a  deed  of  a  mile  square  of  wild  Vermont  lands. 
Speculation  in  wild  lands  is  a  feature  of  pioneer 
society.  Vermont  was  once  the  agricultural 
Eldorado  of  New  England.  Emigration  first 
rolled  northward.  Since  that  time  a  certain 
star,  erroneously  supposed  to  belong  to  Bishop 
Berkeley,  has  been  travelling  westward. 

In  1749  Benning  Wentworth,  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire,  issued  a  patent  of  a  township, 
six  miles  square,  near  the  northwest  angle  of 
Massachusetts  and  corresponding  with  its  line 
northward,  and  in  this  township  of  Benning- 
ton  the  Aliens  bought  lands  and  made  their 
home.  This  grant  caused  a  remonstrance  from 
the  governor  and  council  of  New  York.  Sim 
ilar  remonstrances  had  been  made  in  the  cases 
of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  each  of 
whom  claimed  that  their  territory  extended 
to  the  Connecticut  River.  But  that  question 
had  been  settled  in  the  former  cases  between 
New  York  and  New  England  by  agreeing  upon 
a  line  from  the  southwest  corner  of  Connecticut 
northerly  to  Lake  Champlain  as  the  boundary 
between  the  provinces.  Wentworth  urged  in 
justification  of  his  course  that  the  boundary  line 
was  well  known,  and  that  New  Hampshire  had 
the  same  right  as  the  other  colonies  of  New 


24  Ethan  Allen. 

England,  and  lie  persevered  in  his  own  course. 
In  1754  fourteen  new  townships  had  been 
granted,  when  the  French  war  broke  out  and 
the  settlers  were  deterred  from  occupying 
their  lands  by  the  incursions  of  the  French 
and  Indians  on  the  frontier  and  the  uncer 
tainty  of  the  termination  of  the  contest;  but 
when  Canada  was  reduced  by  the  English  and 
peace  concluded,  there  was  a  new  rush  for  the 
possession  of  the  fertile  lands  by  the  hardy 
and  adventurous  sons  of  the  old  New  Eng 
land  colonies.  In  four  years  Governor  Went- 
worth  granted  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
townships,  and  the  territory  included  was 
called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants.  Then 
began  in  bitter  earnest  the  long  controversy 
between  New  York  and  New  Hampshire  for 
the  ownership  of  all  the  territory  now  known 
as  Vermont. 

In  order  to  make  clear  the  circumstances  of 
the  time  when  Ethan  Allen  came  to  the  front, 
it  is  necessary  to  explain  something  of  the 
origin  of  the  strife.  The  New  York  claim  was 
founded  on  a  charter  given  by  Charles  II.  to 
his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  in  1664,  for 
the  country  lying  between  the  Connecticut  and 
Delaware  rivers.  But  that  charter  had  long 


Removal  to  Vermont.  25 

been  considered  as  practically  a  nullity,  for 
when  the  Duke  of  York  succeeded  to  the 
throne  of  England,  it  all  became  public  prop 
erty  subject  to  the  king's  divisions;  and 
there  are  strong  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
mention  of  the  Connecticut  was  merely  a 
formality,  not  intended  as  a  definite  boundary, 
and  that  the  design  was  to  take  in  the  whole 
of  the  New  Netherlands.  The  geography  of 
the  country  was  little  known,  and  the  word 
ing  of  the  charter  was  ambiguous  and  vague. 
Allen  at  once  espoused  the  cause  of  the  set 
tlers.  But  for  him  the  State  of  Vermont  would 
probably  have  never  existed.  But  for  Allen, 
Albany,  not  Montpelier,  might  have  been  the 
capital  of  Vermont.  Allen's  most  illustrious 
achievement  for  the  benefit  of  the  nation  was 
the  capture  of  Ticonderoga.  His  great  work 
for  Vermont  was  successful  resistance  to  the 
Yorkers. 

Before  entering  upon  this  period  of  litiga 
tion,  one  of  the  stories  of  Allen,  illustrating 
his  honesty,  may  fitly  find  a  place.  Having 
given  a  note  which  he  was  unable  to  pay 
when  it  became  due,  he  was  sued.  Allen  em 
ployed  a  lawyer  to  attend  to  his  case  and  post 
pone  payment.  But  the  lawyer  could  not 
3 


26  Ethan  Allen. 

prevent  the  rendering  a  judgment  against 
Allen  at  the  first  term  of  court,  unless  he  filed 
a  plea  alleging  some  real  or  fictitious  ground 
of  defence.  Accordingly,  quite  innocently  he 
put  in  the  usual  plea  denying  that  Allen  signed 
the  note.  The  effect  of  this  was  to  continue 
the  case  to  the  next  term  of  court,  exactly 
what  Allen  wanted ;  but  Allen  was  present  and 
was  indignant  that  he  should  be  made  to  ap 
pear  to  sanction  a  falsehood.  He  rose  in 
court  and  vehemently  denounced  his  lawyer, 
telling  him  that  he  did  not  employ  him  to  tell 
a  lie ;  he  did  sign  that  note ;  he  wanted  to  pay 
it ;  he  only  wanted  time ! 

It  was  in  June,  1770,  that  Allen  first  be 
came  prominent  in  Vermont  public  affairs. 
Then  it  was  that  the  lawsuits  brought  by 
Yorkers  for  Vermont  lands  were  tried  before 
the  Supreme  Court  at  Albany.  Robert  R. 
Livingston  was  the  presiding  judge ;  Kempe 
and  Duane,  attorneys  for  plaintiffs;  Silves 
ter,  of  Albany,  and  Jared  Ingersoll,  of  New 
Haven,  attorneys  for  defendants.  Ethan 
Allen  was  active  in  preparing  the  defence. 
But  of  what  avail  was  defence  when  the  court 
was  virtually  an  adverse  party  to  the  suit? 
Not  only  did  Duane  claim  50,000  acres  of 


Removal  to  Vermont.  27 

Vermont  lands,  but,  to  the  disgrace  of  Eng 
lish  jurisprudence,  Livingston,  the  presiding 
judge,  was  interested  directly  or  indirectly  in 
30,000  acres.  The  farce  was  soon  played  out; 
the  court  refused  to  hear  the  New  Hampshire 
charter  read;  one  trial  was  sufficient;  the 
plaintiffs  won  all  the  cases.  Duane  and  others 
called  on  Allen  and  reminded  him  that  "  might 
makes  right,"  advising  him  to  go  home  and 
counsel  compromise.  Allen  observed:  "The 
gods  of  the  valleys  are  not  the  gods  of  the 
hills!  "  Duane  asked  for  an  explanation,  and 
Allen  replied:  "If  you  will  come  to  Ben- 
nington  the  meaning  shall  be  made  clear  to 
you." 

Allen  went  home  and  no  compromise  was 
thought  of.  The  great  seal  of  New  Hamp 
shire  being  disregarded,  the  "  Beech  Seal  "  was 
invented  as  a  substitute.  A  military  organ 
ization  was  formed  with  several  companies, 
Seth  Warner,  Remember  Baker,  and  others  as 
captains,  and  Ethan  Allen  as  colonel. 

In  July,  1771,  on  the  farm  of  James  Breaken- 
ridge,  in  Bennington,  the  State  of  Vermont  was 
born.  Ten  Eyck,  the  sheriff,  with  300  men,  in 
cluding  mayor,  aldermen,  lawyers,  and  others, 
issued  forth  from  Albany,  as  did  De  Soto  to 


28  Ethan  Allen. 

capture  Florida,  as  Don  Quixote  essayed  to 
conquer  the  windmills.  Breakenridge's  family 
were  wisely  absent.  In  his  house  were  eighteen 
armed  men  provided  with  a  red  flag  to  run  up 
the  chimney  as  a  signal  for  aid.  The  house 
was  barricaded  and  provided  with  loop-holes. 
On  the  woody  ridge  north  were  100  armed 
men,  their  heads  and  the  muzzles  of  their 
guns  barely  visible  amid  the  foliage.  To  the 
southeast,  in  plain  sight,  was  a  smaller  body 
of  men  within  gunshot  of  the  house.  Six 
or  seven  guarded  the  bridge  half  a  mile  to  the 
west.  Mayor  Cuyler  and  a  few  others  were  al 
lowed  to  cross  the  bridge  and  a  parley  ensued. 
The  mayor  returned  to  the  bridge,  and  in  half 
an  hour  the  sheriff  was  notified  that  posses 
sion  would  be  kept  at  all  hazards.  He  ordered 
the  posse  to  advance,  and  a  small  portion  re 
luctantly  complied.  Another  parley  followed, 
while  lawyer  Yates  expounded  New  York  law 
and  the  Vermonters  justified  their  position. 
The  sheriff  seized  an  axe,  and  going  toward 
the  door,  threatened  to  break  it  open.  In  an  in 
stant  an  array  of  guns  was  aimed  at  him ;  he 
stopped,  retired  to  the  bridge,  and  ordered  the 
posse  to  advance  five  miles  into  Bennington. 
But  the  Yorkers  stampeded  for  home,  and  the 


Removal  to  Vermont.  29 

bubble  burst.     The  "star  that  never  sets"  had 
begun  to  glimmer  upon  the  horizon. 

In  the  winter  of  1771-72  Governor  Tryon,  of 
New  York,  issued  proclamations  heavy  with 
ponderous  logic  and  shotted  with  offers  of 
money  for  the  arrest  of  Allen  and  others.  To 
the  arguments  Allen  replied  through  a  news 
paper,  the  Connecticut  C  our  ant,  of  Hartford. 
To  the  premium  for  his  arrest  he  returned  a 
Roland  for  an  Oliver  in  the  following  placard  : 


Reward.  —  Whereas  James  Duane  and  John 
Kempe,  of  New  York,  have  by  their  menaces  and 
threats  greatly  disturbed  the  public  peace  and  re 
pose  of  the  honest  peasants  of  Bennington  and  the 
settlements  to  the  northward,  which  are  now  and 
ever  have  been  in  the  peace  of  God  and  the  King, 
and  are  patriotic  and  liege  subjects  of  Geo.  the  3d. 
Any  person  that  will  apprehend  those  common  dis 
turbers,  viz:  James  Duane  and  John  Kempe,  and 
bring  them  to  Landlord  Fay's,  at  Bennington, 
shall  have  ^15  reward  for  James  Duane  and  ^10 
reward  for  John  Kempe,  paid  by 

ETHAN   ALLEN. 

Dated  Potiltney,  REMEMBER  BAKER. 

Feb.5,  1772.  ROBERT  COCHRAN. 

Duane  and  Kempe  were  prominent  lawyers 
of  New  York,  and  also  prominent  as  advocates 
of  New  York's  claim  to  Vermont  lands.  Duane 


30  Ethan  Allen. 

was  the  son-in-law  of  Robert  Livingston  and 
Kempe  was  attorney-general.  The  idea  of 
their  being  kidnapped  for  exhibition  at  a  log 
tavern  in  the  wilderness  was  slightly  grotesque. 
But  this  did  not  satisfy  Allen.  He  would  fain 
visit  the  enemy  in  one  of  his  strongholds. 

Albany  was  emphatically  a  Dutch  city,  for 
it  was  two  centuries  old  before  it  had  10,000 
inhabitants.  In  1772  it  might  have  had  half 
that  number.  While  the  country  was  flooded 
with  proclamations  for  his  arrest,  Allen  rode 
alone  into  the  city.  Slowly  passing  through 
the  streets  to  the  principal  hotel  he  dismounted, 
entered  the  bar-room,  and  called  for  a  bowl 
of  punch.  The  news  circulated;  the  Dutch 
rallied;  the  crowd  centred  at  the  hotel;  the 
officers  of  the  court,  the  valiant  sheriff,  Ten 
Eyck,  and  the  attorney-general  were  present. 
Allen  raised  the  punch-bowl, bowed  courteously 
to  the  crowd,  swallowed  the  beverage,  returned 
to  the  street,  remounted  his  horse,  rose  in  his 
stirrups  and  shouted  "  Hurrah  for  the  Green 
Mountains !  "  and  then  leisurely  rode  away  un 
harmed  and  unmolested.  The  incident  illus 
trates  Allen's  shrewd  courage,  and  sustains 
Governor  Hall's  theory  that  the  people  of  New 
York  sympathized  more  with  the  Green  Moun- 


Removal  to  Vermont.  31 

tain  Boys  than  with,  their  own  land-gambling 
officers. 

At  the  Green  Mountain  tavern  in  Benning- 
ton  was  a  sign-post,  with  a  sign  twenty-five 
feet  from  the  ground.  Over  the  sign  was  the 
stuffed  skin  of  a  catamount  with  large  teeth 
grinning  toward  New  York.  A  Dutchman  of 
Arlington  who  had  been  active  against  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys  was  punished  by  being 
tied  in  an  arm-chair,  hoisted  to  this  sign,  and 
there  suspended  for  two  hours,  to  the  amuse 
ment  of  the  juvenile  population  and  the  quiet 
gratification  of  their  seniors. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

ALLEN  AND  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS. NEGOTI 
ATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  NEW  YORK  AND  THE 
NEW  HAMPSHIRE  GRANTS. 

DURING  the  six  years  preceding  the  Revolu 
tion,  Allen  was  the  most  prominent  leader  of 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys  in  all  matters  of 
peace,  and  also  in  political  writing.  When 
the  Manchester  Convention,  October  21,  1772, 
sent  James  Breakenridge,  of  Bennington,  and 
Jehiel  Hawley,  of  Arlington,  as  delegates  to 
England,  perhaps  Allen  could  not  be  spared, 
for  if  any  New  York  document  needed  answer 
ing  Allen  answered  it ;  if  any  handbill,  proc 
lamation  or  counter-statement,  or  political  or 
legal  argument  was  to  be  written,  Allen  wrote 
it ;  if  New  England  was  to  be  informed  of  the 
Yorkers'  rascalities,  Allen  sent  the  information 
to  the  Connecticut  Courant  and  Portsmouth 
Gazette,  Vermont  having  no  newspaper.  Rare 
ly  was  force  or  threat  used  or  a  rough  joke 
played  on  a  Yorker,  but  Allen  was  first  in  the 

32 


Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.       33 

fray.  In  Sennington  County  Allen  with  others 
told  a  Yorker  that  they  had  "that  morning 
resolved  to  offer  a  burnt  sacrifice  to  the  gods 
of  the  woods  in  burning  the  logs  of  his  house." 
They  did  burn  the  logs  and  the  rafters,  and 
told  him  to  go  and  complain  to  his  "  scoundrel 
governor." 

Of  all  the  towns  of  Western  Vermont, 
Clarendon  had  been  most  noted  for  its  Tories 
and  its  Yorkers.  Settled  as  early  as  1768,  its 
settlers  founded  their  claims  to  land  titles  on 
grants  from  three  different  powers:  Colonel 
Lydius,  New  York,  and  New  Hampshire.  The 
New  York  patent  of  Socialborough,  covering 
Rutland  and  Pittsford  substantially,  was  dated 
April  3,1771,  and  issued  by  Governor  Dunmore. 
The  New  York  patent  of  Durham,  dated  Jan 
uary  7,  1772,  issued  by  Governor  Tryon,  cov 
ered  Clarendon.  Both  were  in  direct  violation 
of  the  royal  order  in  council,  July,  1767,  and 
therefore  illegal  and  void.  The  new  county 
of  Charlotte,  created  March  12,  1772,  extended 
from  Canada  into  Arlington  and  Sunderland 
and  west  of  Lake  George  and  Lake  Champlain. 
Benjamin  Spencer,  of  Durham,  was  a  justice 
and  judge  of  the  new  county ;  Jacob  Marsh,  of 
Socialborough,  a  justice;  and  Simeon  Jenny, 


34  Ethan  Allen. 

who  lived  near  Chippenhook,  coroner.  These 
three  officers  were  zealous  New  York  partisans. 
The  Green  Mountain  Boys  in  council  passed 
resolutions  to  the  effect  that  no  citizen  should 
do  any  official  act  under  New  York  authority ; 
that  all  persons  holding  Vermont  lands  should 
hold  them  under  New  Hampshire  laws,  and 
if  necessary  force  should  be  used  to  enforce 
these  resolves. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fall  of  1773,  a  large 
force  of  Green  Mountain  Boys,  under  Ethan 
Allen  and  other  leaders,  visited  Clarendon  and 
requested  the  Yorkers  to  comply  with  these 
resolutions,  informing  them  if  this  were  not 
done  within  a  reasonable  time  the  persons  of 
the  Durhamites  would  suffer.  Justice  Spencer 
absconded.  No  violence  was  used  except  on 
one  poor  innocent  dog  of  the  name  of  Tryon, 
and  Governor  Tryon  was  so  odious  that  the  dog 
was  cut  in  pieces  without  benefit  of  clergy. 
This  display  of  force  and  the  threats  that  were 
very  freely  used,  it  was  hoped,  would  be 
enough  to  secure  submission,  but  the  justices 
still  issued  writs  against  the  New  Hampshire 
settlers;  other  New  York  officials  acted,  and 
all  were  loud  in  advocating  the  New  York 
title. 


Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.       35 

A  second  visit  to  Durham  was  made.  Satur 
day,  November  20,  at  n  P.M.,  Ethan  Allen, 
Remember  Baker,  and  twenty  to  thirty  others 
surrounded  Spencer's  house,  took  him  prisoner, 
and  carried  him  two  miles  to  the  house  of  one 
Green,  where  he  was  kept  under  a  guard  of 
four  men  until  Monday  morning,  and  then 
taken  "to  the  house  of  Joseph  Smith,  of  Dur 
ham,  innkeeper."  He  was  asked  where  he 
preferred  to  be  tried ;  he  replied  that  he  was 
not  guilty  of  any  crime,  but  if  he  must  be 
tried,  he  should  choose  his  own  door  as  the 
place  of  trial.  The  Green  Mountain  Boys  had 
now  increased  in  number  to  about  one  hundred 
and  thirty,  armed  with  guns,  cutlasses,  and  other 
weapons.  The  people  of  Clarendon,  Rutland, 
and  Pittsford  hearing  of  the  trial,  gathered  to 
witness  the  proceedings.  A  rural  lawsuit  still 
has  a  wonderful  fascination  for  a  rural  populace. 
Allen  addressed  the  crowd,  telling  them  that 
he,  with  Remember  Baker,  Seth  Warner,  and 
Robert  Cochran,  had  been  appointed  to  inspect 
and  set  things  in  order ;  that  "  Durham  had 
become  a  hornets'  nest"  which  must  be  broken 
up.  A  "judgment  seat"  was  erected ;  Allen, 
Warner,  Baker,  and  Cochran  took  seats  thereon 
as  judges,  and  Spencer  was  ordered  to  stand 


36  Ethan  Allen. 

before  this  tribunal,  take  off  his  hat,  and  listen 
to  the  accusations.  Allen  accused  him  of  join 
ing  with  New  York  land  jobbers  against  New 
Hampshire  grantees  and  issuing  a  warrant  as 
a  justice.  Warner  accused  him  of  accepting  a 
New  York  commission  as  a  magistrate,  of  act 
ing  under  it,  of  writing  a  letter  hostile  to 
New  Hampshire,  of  selling  land  bought  of  a 
New  ^ork  grantee,  and  of  trying  to  induce 
people  to  submit  to  New  York.  He  was  found 
guilty,  his  house  declared  a  nuisance,  and  the 
sentence  was  pronounced  that  his  house  be 
burnt,  and  that  he  promise  not  to  act  again  as  a 
New  York  justice.  Spencer  declared  that  if  his 
house  were  burned,  his  store  of  dry-goods  and 
all  his  property  would  be  destroyed  and  his  wife 
and  children  would  be  great  sufferers.  There 
upon  the  sentence  was  reconsidered.  Warner 
suggested  that  his  house  be  not  destroyed,  but 
that  the  roof  be  taken  off  and  put  on  again, 
provided  Spencer  should  acknowledge  that  it 
was  put  on  under  a  New  Hampshire  title  and 
should  purchase  a  New  Hampshire  title.  The 
judges  so  decided.  Spencer  promised  compli 
ance,  and  "with  great  shouting"  the  roof  was 
taken  off  and  replaced,  and  this  pioneer  dry- 
goods  store  of  1773  was  preserved. 


Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.        37 

At  another  time  twenty  or  thirty  of  Allen's 
party  visit  the  house  of  Coroner  Jenny.  The 
house  was  deserted ;  Jenny  had  fled,  and  they 
burned  the  house  to  the  ground.  The  other 
Durhamites  were  visited  and  threatened,  and 
they  agreed  to  purchase  New  Hampshire  titles. 
Some  of  the  party  returning  from  Clarendon 
met  Jacob  Marsh  in  Arlington,  on  his  way  from 
New  York  to  Rutland.  They  seized  him  and 
put  him  on  trial.  Warnei'  and  Baker  were  the 
accusers.  Baker  wished  to  apply  the  "  beech 
seal,"  but  the  judges  declined.  Warner  read 
the  sentence  that  he  should  encourage  New 
Hampshire  settlers,  discourage  New  York 
settlers,  and  not  act  as  a  New  York  justice, 
"  upon  pain  of  having  his  house  burnt  and  re 
duced  to  ashes  and  his  person  punished  at 
their  pleasure."  He  was  then  dismissed  with 
the  following  certificate : 

Arlington,    Nov.   25,   A.D.    1773.      These    may 
sertify  that  Jacob  Marsh  haith  been  examined,  and 
had  a  fare  trial,  so  that  our  mob  shall  not  meadel 
farther  with  him  as  long  as  he  behaves. 
Sertified  by  us  as  his  judges,  to  wit, 

NATHANIEL  SPENCER, 
SAML.  TUBS, 
PHILIP  PERRY. 


38  Ethan  Allen. 

On  reaching  home,  Marsh  found  that  the 
roof  of  his  house  had  been  publicly  taken  off 
by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

Spencer  in  his  letter  to  Duane,  April  1 1 , 
1772,  wrote:  "One  Ethan  Allen  hath  brought 
from  Connecticut  twelve  or  fifteen  of  the  most 
blackguard  fellows  he  can  get,  double-armed, 
in  order  to  protect  him. "  This  same  Spencer, 
after  acting  as  a  Whig  and  one  of  the  Council 
of  Safety,  deserted  to  Burgoyne  in  1777,  and 
died  a  few  weeks  after  at  Ticonderoga. 

Benjamin  Hough,  of  Clarendon,  was  a 
troublesome  New  York  justice.  His  neighbors 
seized  him  and  carried  him  thirty  miles  south 
in  a  sleigh.  After  three  days,  January  30, 
1775,  he  was  tried  in  Sunderland  before  Allen 
and  others.  His  punishment  was  two  hun 
dred  lashes  on  the  naked  back  while  he  was 
tied  to  a  tree.  Allen  and  Warner  signed  a 
written  certificate  as  a  burlesque  passport  for 
Hough  to  New  York,  "he  behaving  as  be- 
cometh." 

At  this  time  the  following  open  letters  from 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys  were  published: 

An  epistle  to  the  inhabitants  of  Clarendon: 
From  Mr.  Francis  Madison  of  your  town,  I  under- 


Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.         39 

stand  Oliver  Colvin  of  your  town  has  acted  the 
infamous  part  by  locating  part  of  the  farm  of  said 
Madison.  This  sort  of  trick  I  was  partly  apprised 
of,  when  I  wrote  the  late  letter  to  Messrs.  Spen 
cer  and  Marsh.  I  abhor  to  put  a  staff  into  the 
hands  of  Colvin  or  any  other  rascal  to  defraud  your 
letter.  The  Hampshire  title  must,  nay  shall,  be 
had  for  such  settlers  as  are  in  quest  of  it,  at  a 
reasonable  rate,  nor  shall  any  villain  by  a  sudden 
purchase  impose  on  the  old  settlers.  I  advise  said 
Colvin  to  be  flogged  for  the  abuse  aforesaid,  unless 
he  immediately  retracts  and  reforms,  and  if  there 
be  further  difficulties  among  you,  I  advise  that 
you  employ  Capt.  Warner  as  an  arbitrator  in  your 
affairs.  I  am  certain  he  will  do  all  parties  justice. 
Such  candor  you  need  in  your  present  situation, 
for  I  assure  you,  it  is  not  the  design  of  our  mobs 
to  betray  you  into  the  hands  of  villainous  pur 
chasers.  None  but  blockheads  would  purchase 
your  farms,  and  they  must  be  treated  as  such.  If 
this  letter  does  not  settle  this  dispute,  you  had 
better  hire  Captain  Warner  to  come  simply  and 
assist  you  in  the  settlement  of  your  affairs.  My 
business  is  such  that  I  cannot  attend  to  your  mat 
ters  in  person,  but  desire  you  would  inform  me, 
by  writing  or  otherwise  relative  thereto.  Captain 
Baker  joins  with  the  foregoing,  and  does  me  the 
honor  to  subscribe  his  name  with  me.  We  are, 
gentlemen,  your  friends  to  serve. 

ETHAN  ALLEN, 
REMEMBER  BAKER. 


4O  Ethan  Allen. 

To  Mr.  Benjamin  Spencer  and  Mr.  Amos  Marsh,  and 
the  people  of  Clarendon  in  general: 
GENTLEMEN  : — On  my  return  from  what  you 
called  the  mob,  I  was  concerned  for  your  welfare, 
fearing  that  the  force  of  our  arms  would  urge  yon 
to  purchase  the  New  Hampshire  title  at  an  un 
reasonable  rate,  tho'  at  the  same  time  I  know  not 
but  after  the  force  is  withdrawn,  you  will  want  a 
third  army.  However,  on  proviso,  you  incline  to 
purchase  the  title  aforesaid,  it  is  my  opinion,  that 
you  in  justice  ought  to  have  it  at  a  reasonable  rate, 
as  new  lands  were  valued  at  the  time  you  pur 
chased  them.  This,  with  sundry  other  arguments 
in  your  behalf,  I  laid  before  Captain  Jehiel  Haw- 
ley  and  other  respectable  gentlemen  of  that  place 
(Arlington)  and  by  their  advice  and  concurrence, 
I  write  you  this  friendly  epistle  unto  which  they 
subscribe  their  names  with  me,  that  we  are  dis 
posed  to  assist  you  in  purchasing  reasonably  as 
aforesaid;  and  on  condition  Colonel  Willard,  or 
any  other  person  demand  an  exorbitant  price  for 
your  lands  we  scorn  it,  and  will  assist  you  in 
mobbing  such  avaricious  persons,  for  we  mean  to 
use  force  against  oppression,  and  that  only.  Be  it 
in  New  York,  Willard,  or  any  person,  it  is  injuri 
ous  to  the  rights  of  the  district. 

From  yours  to  serve.       ETHAN  ALLEN, 

JEHIEL  HAWLEY, 
DANIEL  CASTLE, 
GIDEON  HAWLEY, 
REUBEN  HAWLEY, 
ABEL  HAWLEY. 


Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.       41 

The  convention  had  decreed  that  no  officer 
from  New  York  should  attempt  to  take  any 
person  out  of  its  territory,  on  penalty  of  a 
severe  punishment,  and  it  forbade  any  sur 
veyor  to  run  lines  through  the  lands  or  inspect 
them  with  that  purpose.  This  edict  enlarged 
the  powers  of  the  military  commanders,  and  it 
'was  their  duty  to  search  out  such  offenders. 
The  Committees  of  Safety  which  were  chosen 
were  entrusted  with  powers  for  regulating 
local  affairs,  and  the  conventions  of  delegates 
representing  the  people,  which  assembled  from 
time  to  time,  adopted  measures  tending  to  har 
mony  and  concentration  of  effort. 

May  19,  1772  (the  year  in  which  occurred 
Poland's  first  dismemberment),  Governor  Try- 
on  wrote  to  Bennington  and  vicinity,  inviting 
the  citizens  to  send  delegates  to  him  and  ex 
plain  the  causes  of  their  opposition  to  New 
York  rule.  Could  anything  be  fairer  or  more 
politic  and  wise?  He  promised  safety  to  any 
and  all  sent,  except  four  of  their  leaders,  Allen, 
Warner,  Cochran,  and  Sevil,  and  suggested 
sending  their  pastor,  J.  Dewey,  and  Mr.  Fay. 
Dewey  answered  on  June  5  : 

We,  his    Majesty's  leal    and   loyal    subjects   of 
the   Province  of  New  York.   .   .   .   First,  we  hold 
4 


42  Ethan  Allen. 

fee  of  our  land  by  grants  of  George  II.,  and 
George  III.,  the  lands  reputed  then  in  New  Hamp 
shire.  Since  1764,  New  York  has  granted  the 
same  land  as  though  the  fee  of  the  land  and  prop 
erty  was  altered  with  jurisdiction,  which  we 
suppose  was  not.  .  .  .  Suits  of  law  for  our  lands 
rejecting  our  proof  of  title,  refusing  time  to 
get  our  evidence  are  the  grounds  of  our  discon 
tent.  .  .  .  Breaking  houses  for  possession  of  them 
and  their  owners,  firing  on  these  people  and 
wounding  innocent  women  and  children.  .  .  . 
We  must  closely  adhere  to  the  maintaining  our 
property  with  a  due  submission  to  Your  Ex 
cellency's,  jurisdiction.  .  .  .  We  pray  and  be 
seech  Your  Excellency  would  assist  to  quiet  us 
in  our  possessions,  till  his  Majesty  in  his  royal 
wisdom  shall  be  graciously  pleased  to  settle  the 
controversy. 

Allen,  not  being  all  owed  to  go  to  New  York, 
wrote  to  Tryon  in  conjunction  with  Warner, 
Baker,  and  Cochran,  stating  the  case  as  follows: 

No  consideration  whatever,  shall  induce  us  to 
remit  in  the  least  of  our  loyalty  and  gratitude  to 
our  most  Gracious  Sovereign,  and  reasonably  to 
you ;  yet  no  tyranny  shall  deter  us  from  asserting 
and  vindicating  our  rights  and  privileges  as  Eng 
lishmen.  We  expect  an  answer  to  our  humble 
petition,  delivered  you  soon  after  you  became 
Governor,  but  in  vain.  We  assent  to  your  juris 
diction,  because  it  is  the  King's  will,  and  always 


Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.       43 

have,  except  where  perverse  use  would  deprive  us 
of  our  property  and  country.  We  desire  and  peti 
tion  to  be  reannexed  to  New  Hampshire.  That  is 
not  the  principal  cause  we  object  to,  but  we  think 
change  made  by  fraud,  unconstitutional  exercise  of 
it.  The  New  York  patentees  got  judgments,  took 
out  writs,  and  actually  dispossessed  several  by 
order  of  law,  of  their  houses  and  farms  and  necessa 
ries.  These  families  spent  their  fortunes  in  bring 
ing  wilderness  into  fruitful  fields,  gardens  and 
orchards.  Over  fifteen  hundred  families  ejected, 
if  five  and  one-quarter  persons  are  allowed  to 
each  family.  .  .  .  The  writs  of  ejectment  come 
thicker  and  faster.  .  .  .  Nobody  can  be  sup 
posed  under  law  if  law  does  not  protect.  .  .  . 
Since  our  misfortune  of  being  annexed  to  New 
York,  law  is  a  tool  to  cheat  us.  ...  Fatigued 
in  settling  a  wilderness  country.  ...  As  our 
cause  is  before  the  King,  we  do  not  expect  you  to 
determine  it.  ...  If  we  don't  oppose  Sheriff, 
he  takes  our  houses  and  farms.  If  we  do,  we  are 
indicted  rioters.  If  our  friends  help  us,  they  are 
indicted  rioters.  As  to  refugees,  self-preservation 
necessitated  our  treating  some  of  them  roughly. 
Ebenezer  Cowle  and  Jonathan  Wheat,  of  Shafts- 
bury,  fled  to  New  York,  be'cause  of  their  own 
guilt,  they  not  being  hurt  nor  threatened.  John 
Munro,  Esq. ,  and  ruffians,  assaulting  Baker  at  day 
break,  March  22,  was  a  notorious  riot,  cutting, 
wounding  and  maiming  Mr.  Baker,  his  wife  and 
children.  As  Baker  is  alive  he  has  no  cause  of 
complaint.  Later  he  (Munro)  assaulted  Warner 


44  Ethan  Allen. 

who,  with  a  dull  cutlass,  struck  him  on  the  head 
to  the  ground.  As  laws  are  made  by  our  enemies, 
we  could  not  bring  Munro  to  justice  otherwise 
than  by  mimicing  him,  and  treating  him  as  he  did 
Baker,  and  so  forth.  Bliss  Willoughby,  feigning 
business,  went  to  Baker's  house  and  reported  to 
Munro,  thus  instigating  and  planning  the  attack. 
.  .  .  The  alteration  of  jurisdiction  in  1764  could 
not  affect  private  property.  .  .  .  The  transfer 
ring  or  alienation  of  property  is  a  sacred  preroga 
tive  of  the  true  owner.  Kings  and  Governors 
cannot  intermeddle  therewith.  .  .  .  We  have  a 
petition  lying  before  his  Majesty  and  Council  for 
redress  of  our  grievances  for  several  years  past. 
In  Moore's  time,  the  King  forbid  New  York  to 
patent  any  lands  before  granted  by  New  Hamp 
shire.  This  a  supercedeas  of  Common  Law. 
King  notifying  New  York  he  takes  cognizance 
and  will  settle  and  forbids  New  York  to  meddle : 
common  sense  teaches  a  common  law,  judgment 
after  that,  if  it  prevailed,  would  be  subversive  of 
royal  authority.  So  all  officers  coming  to  dispos 
sess  are  violaters  of  law.  Right  and  wrong  are 
externally  the  same.  We  are  not  opposing  you 
and  your  Government,  but  a  party  chiefly  at 
torneys.  We  hear  you  applied  to  assembly  for 
armed  force  to  subdue  us  in  vain.  We  choose 
Captain  Stephen  Fay  and  Mr.  Jonas  Fay,  to  treat 
with  you  in  person.  We  entreat  your  aid  to  quiet 
us  in  our  farms  till  the  King  decides  it.* 

*  This  letter,  like  others,  is  given  verbatim,  despite  some  evi 
dent  errors  of  phraseology. 


Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.         45 

The  embassy  was  successful.  The  council 
advised  that  all  legal  processes  against  Ver 
mont  should  cease.  If  Bennington  was  happy 
in  May  over  the  invitation,  Bennington  was  ju 
bilant  in  August  over  the  kindly  advice.  The 
air  rang  with  shouts ;  the  health  of  governor 
and  council  was  drunk  and  cannon  and  small- 
arms  were  heard  everywhere.  No  part  of  New 
York  colony  was  happier  or  more  devotedly 
British.  Two  years  had  passed  since  the  New 
York  Supreme  Court  had  adjudged  all  the  Ver 
mont  legal  documents  null  and  void :  one  year 
had  passed  since  New  York  had  sent  a  sheriff 
and  posse  with  hundreds  of  citizens  to  force 
Vermont  farmers  from  their  farms,  but  both 
of  these  affairs  occurred  under  Governor  Clin 
ton.  Now  perhaps,  the  Vermonters  thought, 
the  new  governor  was  going  to  act  fairly :  there 
would  be  no  more  fights ;  no  more  watching  and 
guarding  against  midnight  attacks ;  no  more 
need  of  fire-arms ;  and  wives  and  babes  would 
be  safe.  There  would  be  no  more  kidnapping 
of  Green  Mountain  Boys  and  hurrying  them 
away  to  Albany  jail;  no  more  foreign  survey 
ing  of  the  lands  they  tilled  and  loved. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  RAID  UPON  COLONEL   REID'S  SETTLERS. ALLEN'S 

OUTLAWRY. CREAN    BRUSH. PHILIP    SKENE. 

BUT  "best  laid  schemes  of  mice  and  men 
gang  aft  agley."  While  these  negotiations 
were  pending,  New  Yorkers  were  quietly  do 
ing  the  necessary  work  for  stealing  more  Ver 
mont  lands.  Cockburn,  the  Scotch  New  York 
surveyor,  was  surveying  land  along  Otter 
Creek.  The  Green  Mountain  Boys  heard  of 
it,  rallied,  and  overtook  him  near  Vergennes, 
and  found  Colonel  Reid's  Scotchmen  enjoy 
ing  mills  and  farms.  For  three  years  these 
foreigners  had  been  there.  In  1769,  with  no 
legal  title,  they  had  found,  seized,  and  enjoyed 
the  land,  with  a  mill.  Vermonters  had  then 
rallied  and  dispossessed  these  dispossessors, 
but  a  second  raid  of  Reid's  men  redispos 
sessed  them.  In  the  summer  of  1772,  Ver 
mont,  seizing  Cockburn,  turned  out  Reid's 
tenants,  broke  up  mill-stones  and  threw  them 
over  the  falls,  razed  houses,  and  burned  crops. 

46 


The  Raid  upon  Colonel  Reid' s  Settlers.       47 

The  Scotch  story  is  as  follows :  John  Cam 
eron  made  affidavit  that  he  and  some  other 
families  from  Scotland  arrived  at  New  York 
in  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  a  few  days  after 
ward  agreed  with  Lieutenant-Colonel  Reid  to 
settle  as  tenants  on  his  lands  on  Otter  Creek, 
in  Charlotte  County.  Reid  went  with  them 
to  Otter  Creek,  some  miles  east  from  Crown 
Point,  and  was  at  considerable  expense  in 
transporting  them,  their  wives,  children,  and 
baggage.  The  day  after  their  arrival  at  Otter 
Creek  they  were  viewing  the  land,  where  they 
saw  a  crop  of  Indian  corn,  wheat,  and  garden 
stuff,  and  a  stack  of  hay  and  two  New  England 
men.  Reid  paid  these  two  men  $15  for  their 
crops,  the  men  agreeing  to  leave  until  the 
king's  pleasure  should  be  known.  Reid  made 
over  these  crops  to  his  new  tenants,  gave 
them  possession  of  the  land  in  presence  of  two 
justices  of  the  peace  of  Charlotte  County,  and 
bought  some  provisions  and  cows  for  his 
tenants.  On  or  about  the  nth  of  August, 
armed  men  from  different  parts  of  the  country 
came  and  turned  James  Henderson  and  others 
out  of  their  homes,  burnt  the  houses  to  the 
ground,  and  for  two  days  pastured  fifty  horses 
which  they  had  brought  with  them  in  a  field  of 


48  Ethan  Allen. 

corn  which  Reid  had  bought.  They  also  burnt 
a  large  stack  of  hay,  purchased  by  Reid. 
The  next  day  the  rioters,  headed  by  their  cap 
tains,  Allen,  Baker,  and  Warner,  came  to 
Cameron's  house,  destroyed  the  new  grist-mill, 
built  by  Reid  (Baker  insisting  upon  it) ,  broke 
the  mill-stones  in  pieces  and  threw  them  down 
a  precipice  into  the  river.  The  rioters  then 
turned  out  Cameron's  wife  and  two  small 
children,  and  burnt  the  house,  having  in  the 
two  days  burnt  five  houses,  two  corn  shades, 
and  one  stack  of  hay.  When  Cameron,  much 
incensed,  asked  by  what  authority  of  law  they 
committed  such  violences,  Baker  replied  that 
they  lived  out  of  the  bounds  of  law,  and  hold 
ing  up  his  gun  said  that  was  his  law.  He 
further  declared  that  they  were  resolved  never 
to  allow  any  persons  claiming  under  New  York 
to  settle  in  that  part  of  the  province,  but  if 
Cameron  would  join  them,  they  would  give 
him  lands  for  nothing.  This  offer  Cameron 
rejected.  While  the  rioters  were  destroying  his 
house  and  mill  on  the  Crown  Point  (west)  side 
of  Otter  Creek,  he  heard  six  men  ordered  to 
go  with  arms  and  stand  as  sentinels  on  a  rising 
ground  toward  Crown  Point,  to  prevent  any 
surprise  from  the  troops  in  the  garrison  there. 


The  Raid  upon  Colonel  Reid's  Settlers.    49 

Having  destroyed  Cameron's  house  and  the 
mill,  the  rioters  recrossed  the  river.  Cameron 
reports  that  he  saw  among  the  rioters  Joshua 
Hide,  who  had  agreed  in  writing  with  Reid 
not  to  return,  and  had  received  payment  for 
his  crop.  Hide  was  very  active  in  advising 
the  destruction  of  Cameron's  house  and  the 
mill. 

Cameron  stayed  about  three  weeks  at  Otter 
Creek,  after  the  rioters  dispersed,  hoping  to 
hear  from  Reid,  and  hoping  also  that  New 
York  would  protect  him  and  his  fellow-settlers, 
but  having  no  house,  and  being  exposed  to  the 
night  air,  the  fever  and  ague  soon  compelled 
him  to  retire.  Some  of  his  companions  wrent 
before,  the  rest  were  to  follow.  What  became 
of  his  wife  and  children  he  does  not  state. 
Cameron  stayed  one  night  at  the  house  of  a 
Mr.  Irwin,  on  the  east  shore  of  the  lake,  five 
miles  north  of  Crown  Point.  Irwin,  an  elderly 
man,  holding  a  New  Hampshire  title,  told 
Cameron  that  Reid  had  a  narrow  escape,  for 
Baker  with  eight  men  had  laid  in  wait  for  him 
a  whole  day,  near  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek, 
determined  to  murder  him,  and  the  men  in  the 
boat  with  him,  on  their  way  back  to  Crown 
Point,  so  that  none  might  remain  to  tell  tales* 


50  Ethan  Allen. 

Fortunately  Reid  had  left  the  day  before.  Ir- 
win  disapproved  of  such,  bloody  intentions,  and 
said  if  his  land  was  confirmed  to  a  Yorker,  he 
would  either  buy  the  Yorker's  title  or  move 
off. 

James  Henderson,  settler  under  Colonel 
Reid,  deposed  that  on  Wednesday,  August  n, 
he  and  three  others  of  Colonel  Reid's  settlers 
were  at  work  at  their  hay  in  the  meadow, 
when  twenty  men,  armed  with  guns,  swords, 
and  pistols,  surprised  them.  They  inquired 
if  Henderson  and  his  companions  lived  in  the 
house  some  time  before  occupied  by  Joshua 
Hide.  They  replied  no,  the  men  who  lived 
in  that  house  were  about  their  business.  The 
rioters  then  told  Henderson  and  his  compan 
ions  that  they  must  go  along  with  them  (as  they 
could  not  understand  the  women),  and  marched 
them  prisoners,  guarded  before  and  behind 
like  criminals,  to  the  house,  where  they  joined 
the  rest  of  the  mob,  in  number  about  one  hun 
dred  or  more,  all  armed  as  before,  and  who, 
as  Henderson  was  told  by  the  women,  had  let 
their  horses  loose  in  the  corn  and  wheat  that 
Reid  had  bought  for  his  settlers.  The  mob 
desired  the  things  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
house,  and  then  set  the  house  on  fire.  Ethan 


The  Raid  upon  Colonel  Reid 's  Settlers.     5 1 

Allen,  the  ringleader  or  captain,  then  ordered 
part  of  his  gang  to  go  with  Henderson  to  his 
own  house  (formerly  built  and  occupied  by 
Captain  Gray)  in  order  to  prepare  it  for  the 
same  fate.  Henderson  and  his  wife  earnestly 
requested  the  mob  to  spare  their  house  for  a 
few  days,  in  order  to  save  their  effects  and 
protect  their  children  from  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather,  until  they  could  have  an  op 
portunity  of  removing  themselves  to  some 
safe  place ;  but  Captain  Allen,  coming  up  from 
the  fore-mentioned  house,  told  them  that  his 
business  required  haste ;  for  he  and  his  gang 
were  determined  not  to  leave  a  house  belong 
ing  to  Colonel  Reid  standing.  Then  the  mob 
set  fire  to  and  entirely  consumed  Henderson's 
house.  Henderson  took  out  his  memorandum 
book  and  desired  to  know  their  ringleader's 
or  captain's  name.  The  captain  answered: 
"Who  gave  you  authority  to  ask  for  my 
name?"  Henderson  replied  that  as  he  took 
him  to  be  the  ringleader  of  the  mob,  and  as  he 
had  in  such  a  riotous  and  unlawful  manner 
dispossessed  him,  he  had  a  right  to  ask  his 
name,  that  he  might  represent  him  to  Colonel 
Reid,  who  had  put  him,  Henderson,  in  peace 
able  possession  of  the  premises  as  his  just 


52  Ethan  Allen. 

property.  Allen  answered,  he  wished  they 
had  caught  Colonel  Reid ;  they  would  have 
whipped  him  severely;  that  his  name  was 
Ethan  Allen,  captain  of  that  mob,  and  that 
his  authority  was  his  own  arms,  pointing  to 
his  gun ;  that  he  and  his  companions  were  a 
lawless  mob,  their  law  being  mob  law.  Hen 
derson  replied  that  the  law  was  made  for  law 
less  and  riotous  people,  and  that  he  must  know 
it  was  death  by  the  law  to  ringleaders  of 
rioters  and  lawless  mobs.  Allen  answered 
that  he  had  run  these  woods  in  the  same  man 
ner  these  seven  years  past  [this  would  carry 
it  back  to  the  year  1766,  when  Zadoc  Thomp 
son  says  Allen's  family  was  living  in  Sheffield] 
and  never  was  caught  yet ;  and  he  told  Hen 
derson  that  if  any  of  Colonel  Reid's  settlers 
offered  hereafter  to  build  any  house  and  keep 
possession,  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  as  they 
call  themselves,  would  burn  their  houses  and 
whip  them  into  the  bargain.  The  mob  then 
burnt  the  house  formerly  built  and  occupied 
by  Lewis  Stewart,  and  remained  that  night 
about  Leonard's  house.  The  next  day,  about 
seven  A.M.,  August  12,  Henderson  went  to 
Leonard's  house.  The  mob  were  all  drawn 
up,  consulting  about  destroying  the  mill. 


The  Raid  upon  Colonel  Reid's  Settlers.     53 

Those  who  were  in  favor  of  it  were  ordered 
to  follow  Captain  Allen.  In  the  mean  time 
Baker  and  his  gang  came  to  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river  and  fired  their  guns.  They  were 
brought  over  at  once,  and  while  they  were 
taking  some  refreshment,  Allen's  party 
marched  to  the  mill,  but  did  not  break  up 
any  part  of  it  until  Allen  joined  them.  The 
two  mobs  having  joined  (by  their  own  ac 
count  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  number) ,  with 
axes,  crow-bars,  and  handspikes  tore  the  mill 
to  pieces,  broke  the  mill-stones  and  threw  them 
into  the  creek.  Baker  came  out  of  the  mill 
with  the  bolt-cloth  in  his  hands.  With  his 
sword  he  cut  it  in  pieces  and  distributed  it 
among  the  mob  to  wear  in  their  hats  like  cock 
ades,  as  trophies  of  the  victory.  Henderson 
told  Baker  he  was  about  very  disagreeable 
work.  Baker  replied  it  was  so,  but  he  had  a 
commission  for  so  doing,  and  showed  Hen 
derson  where  his  thumb  had  been  cut  off, 
which  he  called  his  commission. 

Angus  McBean,  settler  under  Colonel  Reid, 
deposed  that  between  seven  and  eight  A.M., 
Thursday,  August  12  last,  he  met  a  part  of 
the  New  England  mob  about  Leonard's  house, 
sixty  men  or  thereabouts,  he  supposed,  armed 


54  Ethan  Allen. 

with  guns,  swords,  and  pistols.  One  of  them 
asked  Angus  if  he  were  one  of  Colonel  Reid's 
new  settlers,  and  having  been  told  he  was, 
asked  him  what  he  intended  to  do.  McBean 
replied  he  intended  to  build  himself  a  house 
and  keep  possession  of  the  land.  He  was  then 
asked  if  he  intended  to  keep  possession  for 
Colonel  Reid.  He  replied  yes,  as  long  as  he 
could.  Soon  after  their  chief  leader,  Allen, 
came  and  asked  him  if  he  was  the  man  that 
said  he  would  keep  possession  for  Colonel  Reid. 
McBean  said  yes.  Allen  then  damned  his 
soul,  but  he  would  have  him,  McBean,  tied  to 
a  tree  and  skinned  alive,  if  he  ever  attempted 
such  a  thing.  Allen  and  several  of  the  mob 
said,  if  they  could  but  catch  Colonel  Reid, 
they  would  cut  his  head  off.  Joshua  Hide, 
one  of  the  persons  of  whom  Colonel  Reid 
bought  the  crop,  advised  the  mob  to  tear  down 
or  burn  the  houses  of  Donald  Mclntosh  and 
John  Burdan,  as  they  both  had  been  assisting 
Colonel  Reid.  Soon  after  several  guns  were 
fired  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek.  Some  of 
the  mob  said  that  was  Captain  Baker  and  his 
party  coming  to  see  the  sport.  Soon  Baker 
and  his  party  joined  the  mob,  and  all  went  to 
tear  down  the  grist-mill.  McBean  thought 


The  Raid  upon  Colonel  Reid's  Settlers.     55 

Baker  was  one  of  the  first  that  entered  the 
mill. 

However  strong  our  indignation  at  the  New 
York  usurpations,  we  cannot  read  of  the  vio 
lent  ejectment  of  families  without  a  feeling  of 
repugnance  to  such  a  method.  Turn  to  the 
vivid  and  romantic  account  of  Colonel  Reid's 
settlement  in  "The  Tory's  Daughter, " and  re 
member  that  in  civil  strife  the  innocent  must 
often  suffer.  The  Green  Mountain  Boys'  im 
munity  from  the  penalty  of  the  law  for  their 
riotous  acts  shows  not  only  their  adroitness, 
but  suggests  half-heartedness  in  their  pursuit. 
Laws  not  supported  by  public  sentiment  are 
rarely  enforced. 

John  Munroe  wrote  to  Duane  during  the 
Clarendon  proceedings : 

The  rioters  have  a  great  many  friends  in  the 
county  of  Albany,  and  particularly  in  the  city  of 
Albany,  which  encourages  them  in  their  wicked 
ness,  at  the  same  time  hold  offices  under  the  Gov 
ernment,  and  pretend  to  be  much  against  them, 
but  at  heart  I  know  them  to  be  otherwise,  for  the 
rioters  have  often  told  me,  that  be  it  known  to  me, 
that  they  had  more  friends  in  Albany  than  I  had, 
which  I  believe  to  be  true. 

Hugh  Munro  lived  near   the  west   line   of 


$6  Ethan  Allen. 

Shaftsbury.  He  took  Surveyor  Campbell  to 
survey  land  in  Rupert  for  him.  He  was  seized 
by  Cochran,  who  said  he  was  a  son  of  Robin 
Hood,  and  beaten.  Ira  Allen  says  Munro 
fainted  from  whipping  by  bush  twigs.  Munro 
had  not  a  savory  reputation  with  the  Vermont- 
ers.  After  Try  on 's  offer  of  a  reward  for  the 
arrest  of  Allen,  Baker,  and  Cochran,  he,  with 
ten  or  twelve  other  men,  had  seized  Baker, 
who  lived  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  him,  a 
mile  east  of  Arlington.  After  a  march  of  six 
teen  miles,  they  were  met  by  ten  Bennington 
men,  who  arrested  Munro  and  Constable  Ste 
vens,  the  rest  of  the  party  fleeing.  Later  War 
ner  and  one  man  rode  to  Munro 's  and  asked 
for  Baker's  gun.  Munro  refused,  and  seizing 
Warner's  bridle  ordered  the  constable  to  ar 
rest  Warner,  who  drew  his  cutlass  and  felled 
Munro  to  the  ground.  For  this  act  of  War 
ner's,  Poultney  voted  him  one  hundred  acres 
of  land  April  4,  1773. 

In  1774  Allen  published  a  pamphlet  of  over 
two  hundred  pages,  in  which  he  rehearsed 
many  historical  facts  tending  to  show  that 
previous  to  the  royal  order  of  1764,  New 
York  had  no  claim  to  extend  easterly  to  the 
Connecticut  River.  He  portrayed  in  strong 


The  Raid  upon  Colonel  Reid's  Settlers.     57 

light  the  oppressive  conduct  of  New  York 
toward  the  settlers.  This  pamphlet  also  con 
tained  the  answer  of  himself  and  of  his  asso 
ciates  to  the  Act  of  Outlawry  of  March,  1774. 
Another  man  was  busy  this  year  drawing  up 
reports  of  the  trouble  in  Vermont. 

Crean  Brush,  the  first  Vermont  lawyer,  was 
a  colonel,  a  native  of  Dublin.  In  1762  he 
came  to  New  York  and  became  assistant  secre 
tary  of  the  colony;  in  1771-74  he  practised 
law  in  Westminster,  Vt.  He  claimed  thou 
sands  of  Vermont  acres  under  New  York  titles, 
and  became  county  clerk,  surrogate,  and  pro 
vincial  member  of  Congress.  He  was  in  Bos 
ton  jail  nineteen  months  for  plundering  Boston 
whigs,  and  finally  escaped  in  his  wife's  dress. 
The  British  commander  in  New  York  told 
him  his  conduct  merited  more  punishment. 
A  Yorker,  always  fighting  the  Green  Moun 
tain  Boys ;  a  tory,  always  fighting  the  whigs ; 
with  fair  culture  and  talent,  he  became  a  sot, 
and,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three,  in  1778,  he  blew 
his  brains  out,  in  New  York  City.  He  left  a 
step-daughter  who  became  the  second  wife  of 
Ethan  Allen. 

On  February  5,  1774,  Brush  reported  to  the 
New  York  Legislature  resolutions  to  the  effect 
5 


58  Ethan  Allen. 

"that  riotousness  exists  in  part  of  Charlotte 
County  and  northeast  Albany  County,  calling 
for  redress ;  that  a  Bennington  mob  has  ter 
rorized  officers,  rescued  debtors,  assumed  mili 
tary  command  and  judicial  power,  burned 
houses,  beat  citizens,  expelled  thousands, 
stopped  the  administration  of  justice;  that 
anti-rioters  are  in  danger  in  person  and  prop 
erty  and  need  protection.  Wherefore  the 
Governor  is  petitioned  to  offer  fifty  pounds 
reward  for  the  apprehension  and  lodgment  in 
Albany  jail  of  Ethan  Allen,  Seth  Warner,  Re 
member  Baker,  Robert  Cochran,  Peleg  Sun- 
derland,  Silvanus  Brown,  James  Breakenridge, 
and  John  Smith,  either  or  any  of  them."  It 
was  ordered  that  Brush  and  Colonel  Ten  Eyck 
report  a  bill  for  the  suppression  of  riotous  and 
disorderly  proceedings.  Captain  Delaney  and 
Mr.  Walton  were  appointed  to  present  the  ad 
dress  and  resolutions  to  the  governor. 

A  committee  met  March  i ,  1 774,  at  Eliakim 
Weller's  house  in  Manchester,  adjourning  to 
the  third  Wednesday  at  Captain  Jehial  Haw- 
ley's  in  Arlington.  Nathan  Clark  was  chair 
man  of  the  committee  and  Jonas  Clark  clerk. 
The  New  York  Mercury,  No.  1,163,  with  the 
foregoing  report  in  it,  was  produced  and  read. 


The  Raid  upon  Colonel  Reid's  Settlers.     59 

Seven  of  the  committee  were  chosen  to  exam 
ine  it  and  prepare  a  report,  which  was  adopted 
and  ordered  published  in  the  public  papers. 
They  speak  of  their  misfortune  in  being  an 
nexed  to  New  York,  and  hope  that  the  king 
will  adopt  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
made  December  3,  1772.  In  consequence, 
hundreds  of  settled  families,  many  of  them 
comparatively  wealthy,  resolved  to  defend  the 
outlawed  men.  All  were  ready  at  a  minute's 
warning.  They  resolved  to  act  on  the  defen 
sive  only,  and  to  encourage  the  execution  of  law 
in  civil  cases  and  in  real  criminal  cases.  They 
advised  the  General  Assembly  to  wait  for  the 
king's  decision.  The  committee  declared  that 
they  were  all  loyal  to  their  political  father ;  but 
that  as  they  bought  of  the  first  governor  ap 
pointed  by  the  king,  on  the  faith  of  the  crown, 
they  will  maintain  those  grants;  that  New 
York  has  acted  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the 
good  laws  of  Great  Britain.  This  declaration 
was  certified  by  the  chairman  and  clerk,  at 
Bennington,  April  14,  1774. 

It  was  in  1774  that  a  new  plan  was  formed 
for  escaping  from  the  government  of  New 
York ;  a  plan  that  startles  us  by  its  audacity  and 
its  comprehensiveness.  This  was  to  establish 


60  Ethan  Allen. 

a  new  royal  colony  extending1  from  the  Con 
necticut  to  Lake  Ontario  and  the  St.  Lawrence, 
from  forty-five  degrees  of  north  latitude  to 
Massachusetts  and  the  Mohawk  River.  The 
plan  was  formed  by  Allen  and  other  Vermont- 
ers.  At  that  time  Colonel  Philip  Skene,  a  re 
tired  British  officer,  was  living  at  Whitehall 
on  a  large  patent  of  land.  t  To  him  the  Ver- 
monters  communicated  the  project.  White 
hall  was  to  be  the  capital  and  Skene  the  gov 
ernor  of  the  projected  colony.  Skene,  at  his 
own  expense,  went  to  London,  and  was  ap 
pointed  governor  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  but  the  course  of  public  events  pre 
vented  the  completion  of  this  scheme. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PREPARATIONS     TO     CAPTURE     TICONDEROGA. — DIARY 

OF     EDWARD    MOTT. EXPEDITIONS     PLANNED. — 

BENEDICT    ARNOLD.— GERSHOM     BEACH. 

ON  March  29,  1775,  John  Brown,  a  Mas 
sachusetts  lawyer,  wrote  from  Montreal  to  Bos 
ton: 

The  people  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  have 
engaged  to  seize  the  fort  at  Ticonderoga  as  soon 
as  possible,  should  hostilities  be  committed  by  the 
king's  troops. 

The  most  minute  account  of  the  prepara 
tions  to  capture  Ticonderoga  is  furnished  by 
the  diary  for  April,  1775,  of  Edward  Mott,  of 
Preston,  Conn.,  a  captain  in  Colonel  S.  H. 
Parson's  regiment.  He  had  been  at  the  camp 
of  the  American  army  beleaguering  Boston ; 
took  charge  of  the  expedition  to  seize  Ticon 
deroga;  reported  its  success  to  Governor 
Trumbull  at  Hartford;  was  sent  by  Trum- 
bull  to  Congress  at  Philadelphia  with  the 
news ;  resumed  the  command  of  his  company 

61 


62  Ethan  Allen. 

at  Ticonderoga  in  May ;  was  with  the  North 
ern  army  during  the  campaign ;  was  at  the 
taking  of  Chambly  and  St.  Johns ;  and  became 
a  major  in  Colonel  Gray's  regiment  next  year. 

PRESTON,  Friday,  April  28,  1775. 
Set  out  for  Hartford,  where  I  arrived  the  same 
day.  Saw  Christopher  Leffingwell,  who  inquired 
of  me  about  the  situation  of  the  people  at  Boston. 
When  I  had  given  him  an  account,  he  asked  me 
how  they  could  be  relieved  and  where  I  thought 
we  could  get  artillery  and  stores.  I  told  him  I 
knew  not  unless  we  went  and  took  possession  of 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  which  I  thought 
might  be  done  by  surprise  with  a  small  number  of 
men.  Mr.  Leffingwell  left  me  and  in  a  short  time 
came  to  me  again,  and  brought  with  him  Samuel 
H.  Parsons  and  Silas  Deane,  Esqrs.  When  he 
asked  me  if  I  would  undertake  in  such  an  ex 
pedition  as  we  had  talked  of  before,  I  told  him  I 
would.  They  told  me  they  wished  I  had  been 
there  one  day  sooner;  that  they  had  been  on  such 
a  plan ;  and  that  they  had  sent  off  Messrs.  Noah 
Phelps  and  Bernard  Romans,  whom  they  had  sup 
plied  with  ^"300  in  cash  from  the  treasury,  and 
ordered  them  to  draw  for  more  if  they  should  need ; 
that  said  Phelps  and  Romans  had  gone  by  the  way 
of  Salisbury,  where  they  would  make  a  stop.  They 
expected  a  small  number  of  men  would  join  them, 
and  if  I  would  go  after  them  they  would  give  me 
an  order  or  letter  to  them  to  join  with  them  and 


Preparations  to  Capture    Ticonderoga.       63 

to  have  my  voice  with  them  in  conducting  the 
affair  and  in  laying  out  the  money ;  and  also  that 
I  might  take  five  or  six  men  with  me.  On  which 
I  took  with  me  Mr.  Jeremiah  Halsey,  Mr.  Epaphras 
Bull,  Mr.  Wm.  Nichols,  Mr.  Elijah  Babcock,  and 
John  Bigelow  joined  me;  and  Saturday,  the  2pth 
of  April,  in  the  afternoon,  we  set  out  on  said  ex 
pedition.  Mr.  Babcock  tired  his  horse.  We  got 
another  horse  of  Esq.  Humphrey  in  Norfolk,  and 
that  day  arrived  at  Salisbury;  tarried  all  night, 
and  the  next  day,  having  augmented  our  company 
to  the  number  of  sixteen  in  the  whole,  we  con 
cluded  it  was  not  best  to  add  any  more,  as  we  meant 
to  keep  our  business  a  secret  and  ride  through 
the  country  unarmed  till  we  came  to  the  New 
Settlements  on  the  Grants.  We  arrived  at  Mr. 
Dewey's  in  Sheffield,  and  there  we  sent  off  Mr. 
Jer.  Halsey  and  Capt.  John  Stevens  to  go  to  Al 
bany,  in  order  to  discover  the  temper  of  the  people 
in  that  place,  and  to  return  and  inform  us  as  soon 
as  possible. 

That  night  (Monday  the  ist  of  May)  we  arrived 
at  Col.  Easton's  in  Pittsfield,  where  we  fell  in  com 
pany  with  John  Brown,  Esq.,  who  had  been  at 
Canada  and  Ticonderoga  about  a  month  before ;  on 
which  we  concluded  to  make  known  our  business 
to  Col.  Easton  and  said  Brown  and  to  take  their 
advice  on  the  same.  I  was  advised  by  Messrs. 
Deane,  Leffingwell,  and  Parsons  not  to  raise  our 
men  till  we  came  to  the  New  Hampshire  Grants, 
lest  we  should  be  discovered  by  having  too  long  a 


64  Ethan  Allen. 

march  through  the  country.  But  when  we  ad 
vised  with  the  said  Easton  and  Brown  they  advised 
us  that,  as  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions 
in  the  Grants,  and  as  the  people  were  generally 
poor,  it  would  be  difficult  to  get  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  men  there ;  therefore  we  had  better  raise  a 
number  of  men  sooner.  Said  Easton  and  Brown 
concluded  to  go  with  us,  and  Easton  said  he  would 
assist  me  in  raising  some  men  in  his  regiment. 
We  then  concluded  for  me  to  go  with  Col.  Easton 
to  Jericho  and  Williamstown  to  raise  men,  and 
the  rest  of  us  to  go  forward  to  Bennington  and 
see  if  they  could  purchase  provisions  there. 

We  raised  twenty-four  men  in  Jericho  and  fif 
teen  in  Williamstown ;  got  them  equipped  ready 
to  march.  Then  Col.  Easton  and  I  set  out  for  Ben 
nington.  That  evening  we  met  with  an  express 
for  our  people  informing  us  that  they  had  seen  a 
man  directly  from  Ticonderoga  and  he  informed 
them  that  they  were  re-enforced  at  Ticonderoga, 
and  were  repairing  the  garrison,  and  were  every 
way  on  their  guard ;  therefore  it  was  best  for  us 
to  dismiss  the  men  we  had  raised  and  proceed  no 
further,  as  we  should  not  succeed.  I  asked  who 
the  man  was,  where  he  belonged,  and  where  he 
was  going,  but  could  get  no  account ;  on  which  I 
ordered  that  the  men  should  not  be  dismissed,  but 
that  we  should  proceed.  The  next  day  I  arrived 
at  Bennington.  There  overtook  our  people,  all 
but  Mr.  Noah  Phelps  and  Mr.  Heacock,  who  were 
gone  forward  to  reconnoitre  the  fort:  and  Mr. 


Preparations  to  Capture   Ticonderoga.       65 

Halsey  and  Mr.  Stevens  had  not  got  back  from 
Albany. 

The  following  account  of  expenses  incurred 
on  this  expedition  is  amusing,  pitiful,  and  in 
teresting,  as  evidence  of  the  small  beginnings 
of  the  Revolution,  and  as  compared  with  the 
machinery  of  transportation  and  the  wealth  of 
the  nation  in  its  Civil  War : 

Account  of  Captain  Edward  Mott  for  his  ex 
penses  going  to  Ticonderoga  and  afterwards 
against  the  Colony  of  Connecticut: 

£    s.  d. 

April  26th. — To  expenses  from  Preston 

to  Hartford 050 

Expenses  at  Hartford  while  consult 
ing  what  plan  to  take,  or  where  it 
would  be  best  to  raise  the  men. ...  o  15  o 

April  3oth. — To  expenses  of  six  men  at 
New  Hartford  on  our  way  to  New 
Hampshire  Grants  to  raise  men 

($3) 0180 

May  i st. — To  expenses  at  Norfolk 

($2.50) o  15  o 

To  expenses  at  Shaf tsbury o  7  8 

To  expenses  in  Jericho  while  raising 

men i  o  5 

To  expenses  of  marching  men  from 

Jericho  to  Williamstown i       4     o 


66  Ethan  Allen. 

£     s.  d. 
May  i st. — To  expenses  at  Allentown ..     068 

To  expenses  at  Massachusetts 2       4     6 

"  Newport 0160 

"  Pawlet i       3     3 

"  Castleton i       6     o 

To   cash  to   a  teamster  for  carting 

provisions o       6     o 

To  cash  to  Captain  Noah  Phelps  £i 

and  to  Elijah  Babcock  £6 7       o     o 

To   cash   to  Colonel   Ethan  Allen's 

wife 3       o     o 

To  a  horse  cost  me  £20  in  cash 
($66.66),  which  I  wore  out  in 
riding-  to  raise  the  men  and  going 
to  Ticonderoga,  so  that  I  was 
obliged  to  leave  her  and  get  an 
other  horse  to  ride  back  to  Hart 
ford  20  o  o 

To  my  expenses  from  Ticonderoga 
back  to  Hartford  after  we  had 
taken  the  fort 2  o  o 

To  my  time  or  wages  while  going  on 
said  service,  and  going  from  Hart 
ford  to  Philadelphia  to  report  to 
Congress  by  Governor  Trumbuil's 
orders,  being  between  thirty  and 
forty  days,  much  of  the  time  day 
and  night 20  o  o 


Preparations  to  Capture   Ticonderoga.       67 

The  3d  of  May,  1775,  is  an  eventful  day. 
Four  scenes  interest  us.  At  Albany  there  is 
hesitation.  Halsey  and  Stevens  have  been 
there  to  obtain  permission  for  the  Ticon 
deroga  expedition.  The  Albany  committee- 
men  are  alarmed,  for  the  proposition  seems  to 
be  hazardous.  What  will  the  New  York  Con 
gress  think  of  it?  Will  the  next  Continental 
Congress,  to  meet  seven  days  hence,  approve 
of  it?  The  committee  write  to  the  New  York 
Congress  for  instructions,  suggesting  that  if 
New  York  goes  in  for  the  invasion  it  will 
plunge  northern  New  York  into  all  the  hor 
rors  of  war. 

A  second  scene  is  at  Cambridge.  The  Com 
mittee  of  Safety,  without  waiting  for  permis 
sion  from  New  York,  decided  to  act.  They 
issue  a  commission  to  Arnold  without  consult 
ing  the  Massachusetts  Congress,  and  authorize 
him  to  raise  four  hundred  men  in  western 
Massachusetts  and  near  colonies  for  the  cap 
ture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point;  they 
give  him  money  and  authority  to  seize  and 
send  military  stores  to  Massachusetts.  We 
can  imagine  Arnold  quickly  in  the  saddle,  for 
the  enterprise  suits  his  genius. 

Benedict  Arnold  was  now  thirty-five  years 


68  Ethan  Allen. 

old;  educated  in  the  common  schools,  ap 
prenticed  as  a  druggist,  fond  of  mischief, 
cruel,  irritable,  reckless  of  his  reputation, 
ambitious  and  uncontrollable.  As  a  boy  he 
loved  to  maim  young  birds,  placed  broken 
glass  where  school-children  would  cut  their 
feet,  and  enticed  them  with  presents  and  then 
rushed  out  and  horsewhipped  them.  He 
would  cling  to  the  arms  of  a  large  water-wheel 
at  the  grist-mill  and  thus  pass  beneath  and 
above  the  water.  When  sixteen  years  of  age 
he  enlisted  as  a  soldier,  was  released ;  enlisted 
again,  was  at  Ticonderoga  and  other  frontier 
forts ;  deserted ;  served  out  his  apprenticeship, 
became  a  druggist  and  general  merchant  in 
New  Haven ;  shipped  horses,  cattle,  and  pro 
visions  to  the  West  Indies,  commanded  his 
own  vessels,  fought  a  duel  with  a  Frenchman 
in  the  West  Indies,  became  a  bankrupt,  and 
was  suspected  of  dishonesty.  Fertile  in  re 
source,  he  resumed  business  with  energy  but 
with  the  same  obliquity  of  moral  purpose. 

With  sixty  volunteers,  a  few  of  them  Yale 
students,  marching  from  New  Haven  to  Cam 
bridge,  he  had  an  interview  with  Colonel 
Samuel  H.  Parsons  near  Hartford  the  2;th  of 
April,  and  told  him  about  the  cannon  and  am- 


Preparations  to  Capture   Ticonderoga.       69 

munition  at  Ticonderoga  and  the  defenceless 
condition  of  that  fort.  Such  was  the  man  who 
endeavored  to  wrest  the  command  of  the  ex 
pedition  from  Allen. 

But  the  grandest  scene  of  all  on  that  3d  of 
May  is  the  assemblage  in  Bennington,  per 
haps  in  the  old  Catamount  Tavern  of  Stephen 
Fay.  Allen,  Warner,  Robinson,  Dr.  Jonas  Fay, 
Joseph  Fay,  Breakenridge  are  there  with  fifteen 
Connecticut  men  and  thirty-nine  Massachusetts 
men.  Easton's  Massachusetts  men  outnum 
ber  Warner's  recruits,  and  Warner  ranks  third 
instead  of  second.  No  one  dreams  of  any  one 
but  Allen  for  the  leader.  Easton  is  also  com 
plimented  by  being  made  chairman  of  the 
council.  Allen  with  his  usual  energy  takes 
the  initiative  and  leaves  the  party  to  raise 
more  men.  He  has  been  gone  but  a  short 
time  when  Benedict  Arnold  arrives  on  horse 
back  with  one  attendant  at  the  hamlet  and 
camp  of  Castleton.  He  sees  Nott  and  other 
officers.  They  frankly  communicate  to  him  all 
their  plans,  and  are  in  turn  astounded  by 
Arnold's  claiming  the  right  to  take  command 
of  their  whole  force.  He  shows  them  his  com 
mission  from  the  Committee  of  Safety  in  Cam 
bridge,  Mass.  This  paper  gave  authority  to 


70  Ethan  Allen. 

enlist  men,  but  no  more  power  over  these  men 
than  any  other  American  volunteers.  Arnold's 
temper  brooked  no  opposition.  There  is  al 
most  a  mutiny  among  the  men.  They  would 
go  home,  abandon  the  whole  expedition  which 
had  so  enkindled  their  enthusiasm,  rather  than 
be  subject  to  Arnold.  Whether  this  was 
owing  to  his  domineering  temper  as  exhibited 
before  them,  to  his  reputation  in  Connecticut 
as  an  unprincipled  man,  or  entirely  to  their 
regard  for  their  own  officers  and  aversion 
to  others,  we  can  only  conjecture.  Tuesday 
morning  this  wrangling  is  resumed.  Again 
the  soldiers  threaten  to  club  their  guns  and 
go  home.  When  told  that  they  should  be  paid 
the  same,  although  Arnold  did  command  them, 
they  would  "  damn"  their  pay.  But  Arnold  sud 
denly  started  to  leave  this  company  and  over 
take  Allen.  The  soldiers,  knowing  Allen's 
good-nature,  as  suddenly  leave  Castleton  and 
follow  Arnold  to  prevent  his  overpersuading 
Allen  to  yield  to  his  arrogance. 

When  this  stampede  occurred,  Nott  and 
Phelps  with  Herrick  were  with  the  thirty 
men  on  the  march  to  Skenesborough.  They 
left  the  Remington  camp  at  Castleton,  and 
had  gone  nearly  to  Hydeville.  The  stampede 


Preparations  to  Capture   Ticonderoga.        71 

left  all  the  provisions  at  Castleton,  so  that 
Nott  and  Phelps  were  obliged  to  return  to 
Castleton,  gather  up  the  provisions,  and  follow 
the  main  party  to  Ticonderoga.  They  arrived 
in  Shoreham  too  late  to  take  part  in  the  cap 
ture,  but  crossed  the  lake  with  Warner.  This 
incident  deprives  us  of  the  benefit  of  Nott's 
journal  account  of  the  capture  itself,  a  loss  to 
be  deplored.  Some  time  Tuesday,  somewhere 
between  Castleton  and  the  lake,  Allen  and 
Arnold  met,  and  the  scene  occurred  which  has 
been  so  often  and  so  well  told  in  romance  and 
history. 

Within  three  weeks  after  the  world-renowned 
iQth  of  April,  1775,  Ethan  stood  in  Castleton 
with  an  old  friend  by  his  side,  Gershom  Beach, 
of  Rutland,  a  whig  blacksmith,  intelligent, 
capable,  and  true.  Besides  some  sixty  Mas 
sachusetts  and  Connecticut  allies,  Allen  is  sur 
rounded  by  from  one  to  two  hundred  Green 
Mountain  Boys.  More  men  were  wanted,  and 
Beach  was  selected  from  the  willing  and  eager 
crowd  to  go,  like  Roderick  Dhu's  messenger 
with  the  Cross  of  Fire,  o'er  hill  and  dale, 
across  brook  and  swamp,  from  Castleton  to 
Rutland,  Pittsford,  Brandon,  Middlebury,  and 
Shoreham.  The  distance  was  sixty  miles,  the 


72  Ethan  Allen. 

time  allowed  twenty-four  hours,  the  rallying- 
point  a  ravine  at  Hand's  Point,  Shoreham. 
Paul  Revere  rode  on  a  good  steed,  over  good 
roads,  on  a  moonlight  night,  in  a  few  hours. 
Gershom  Beach  went  on  foot,  crossed  Otter 
Creek  twice,  forded  West  Creek,  East  Creek, 
Furnace  Brook,  Neshobe  River,  Leicester 
River,  Middlebury  River,  and  walked  through 
forests  choked  with  underbrush,  but  at  the  end 
of  the  day  allotted  the  men  were  warned  and 
were  hastening  to  the  rendezvous.  Then  and 
not  till  then  Beach  threw  himself  on  the 
ground  and  gave  himself  up  to  well-earned 
sleep.  Let  us  give  this  hero  his  full  meed 
of  praise.  After  a  few  hours'  rest  he  fol 
lowed  the  men  whom  he  had  aroused  and 
joined  Allen. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

IN  the  gray  of  the  morning,  Wednesday, 
May  10,  1775,  Ethan  Allen  with  eighty-three 
Green  Mountain  Boys  crossed  the  lake.  He 
frankly  told  his  followers  of  the  danger,  but 
every  gun  was  poised  to  dare  that  danger.  Soon 
three  huzzas  rang  out  on  the  parade-ground  of 
the  sleeping  fort.  The  English  captain,  De 
Laplace,  not  knowing  that  his  nation  had  an 
enemy  on  this  continent,  asked  innocently  by 
what  authority  his  surrender  was  demanded. 
Need  I  repeat  the  answer?  No  words  in  the 
language  are  more  familiar  than  Allen's  reply. 
The  British  colors  were  trailed  before  a  power 
that  had  no  national  flag  for  more  than  two 
years  afterward.  A  few  hours  later,  that  same 
day,  the  second  session  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress  began  at  Philadelphia,  the  members  all 
unaware  and  soon  in  part  disapproving  of  this 
exploit  of  Allen's.  The  graphic  account  by 
6  73 


74  Ethan  Allen. 

the  hero's  own  pen  is  more  life-like  than  that 
of  any  historian : 

The  first  systematical  and  bloody  attempt  at 
Lexington  to  enslave  America  thoroughly  elec 
trified  my  mind,  and  fully  determined  me  to  take 
part  with  my  country.  And  while  I  was  wishing 
for  an  opportunity  to  signalize  myself  in  its  be 
half,  directions  were  privately  sent  to  me  from  the 
then  colony  of  Connecticut  to  raise  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  and  if  possible  with  them  to  sur 
prise  and  take  the  fortress  of  Ticonderoga.  This 
enterprise  I  cheerfully  undertook ;  and  after  first 
guarding  all  the  passes  that  led  thither,  to  cut  off 
all  intelligence  between  the  garrison  and  the  coun 
try,  made  a  forced  march  from  Bennington  and  ar 
rived  at  the  lake  opposite  to  Ticonderoga  on  the 
evening  of  the  ninth  day  of  May,  1775,  with  two 
hundred  and  thirty  valiant  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  I  procured 
boats  to  cross  the  lake.  However,  I  landed  eighty- 
three  men  near  the  garrison,  and  sent  the  boats 
back  for  the  rear  guard,  commanded  by  Col.  Seth 
Warner,  but  the  day  began  to  dawn  and  I  found 
myself  under  a  necessity  to  attack  the  fort  before 
the  rear  could  cross  the  lake,  and,  as  it  was  viewed 
hazardous,  I  harangued  the  officers  and  soldiers 
in  the  following  manner : 

"  Friends  and  fellow-soldiers,  you  have  for  a 
number  of  years  past  been  a  scourge  and  terror  to 
arbitrary  power.  Your  valor  has  been  famed 


C apt  tire  of  Ticonderoga.  75 

abroad  and  acknowledged,  as  appears  by  the  ad 
vice  and  orders  to  me  from  the  General  Assembly 
of  Connecticut  to  surprise  and  take  the  garrison 
now  before  us.  I  now  propose  to  advance  before 
you,  and  in  person  conduct  you  through  the  wicket- 
gate  ;  for  we  must  this  morning  either  quit  our 
pretensions  to  valor  or  possess  ourselves  of  this 
fortress  in  a  few  minutes ;  and  inasmuch  as  it  is 
a  desperate  attempt  which  none  but  the  bravest 
of  men  dare  undertake,  I  do  not  urge  it  on  any  con 
trary  to  his  will.  You  that  will  undertake  volun 
tarily,  poise  your  firelocks. " 

The  men  being  at  this  time  drawn  up  in  three 
ranks,  each  poised  his  firelock.  I  ordered  them  to 
face  to  the  right,  and  at  the  head  of  the  centre  file 
marched  them  immediately  to  the  wicket-gate 
aforesaid,  where  I  found  a  sentry  posted  who  in 
stantly  snapped  his  fusee  at  me.  I  ran  imme 
diately  toward  him,  and  he  retreated  through  the 
covered  way  into  the  parade  within  the  garrison, 
gave  a  halloo,  and  ran  under  a  bomb-proof.  My 
party  who  followed  me  into  the  fort  I  formed  on 
the  parade  in  such  a  manner  as  to  face  the  two  bar 
racks,  which  faced  each  other.  The  garrison  being 
asleep,  except  the  sentries,  we  gave  three  huzzas, 
which  greatly  surprised  them.  One  of  the  sentries 
made  a  pass  at  one  of  my  officers  with  a  charge 
bayonet,  and  slightly  wounded  him.  My  first 
thought  was  to  kill  him  with  my  sword,  but  in  an 
instant  I  altered  the  design  and  fury  of  the  blow 
to  a  slight  cut  on  the  side  of  the  head;  upon  which 


76  Ethan  Allen. 

he  dropped  his  gun  and  asked  quarter,  which  I 
readily  granted  him,  and  demanded  of  him  the 
place  where  the  commanding  officer  kept. 

He  showed  me  a  pair  of  stairs  in  front  of  the 
barrack,  on  the  west  part  of  the  garrison,  which 
led  up  to  a  second  story  in  said  barrack,  to  which 
I  immediately  repaired,  and  ordered  the  com 
mander,  Captain  De  la  Place,  to  come  forth  in 
stantly,  or  I  would  sacrifice  the  whole  garrison; 
at  which  the  captain  came  immediately  to  the 
door  with  his  breeches  in  his  hand,  when  I  ordered 
him  to  deliver  me  the  fort  instantly ;  he  asked  me 
by  what  authority  I  demanded  it ;  I  answered  him, 
In  the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah  and  the  Conti 
nental  Congress.  The  authority  of  the  Congress 
being  very  little  known  at  that  time,  he  began  to 
speak  again,  but  I  interrupted  him,  and  with  my 
drawn  sword  over  his  head  again  demanded  an 
immediate  surrender  of  the  garrison :  with  which 
he  then  complied  and  ordered  his  men  to  be  forth 
with  paraded  without  arms,  as  he  had  given  up 
the  garrison. 

In  the  mean  time  some  of  my  officers  had  given 
orders,  and  in  consequence  thereof  sundry  of  the 
barrack  doors  were  beaten  down,  and  about  one- 
third  of  the  garrison  imprisoned,  which  consisted 
of  the  said  commander,  a  Lieut.  Feltham,  a  con- 
ducter  of  artillery,  a  gunner,  two  sergeants,  and 
forty-four  rank  and  file :  about  one  hundred  pieces 
of  cannon,  one  thirteen-inch  mortar,  and  a  number 
of  swords. 


Capture  of  Ticonderoga.  77 

This  surprise  was  carried  into  execution  in  the 
gray  of  the  morning  of  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1775. 
The  sun  seemed  to  rise  that  morning  with  a  su 
perior  lustre :  and  Ticonderoga  and  its  dependen 
cies  smiled  on  its  conquerors,  who  tossed  about 
the  flowing  bowl,  and  wished  success  to  Congress, 
and  the  liberty  and  freedom  of  America.  Happy 
it  was  for  me  at  that  time,  that  the  then  future 
pages  of  the  book  of  fate,  which  afterwards  un 
folded  a  miserable  scene  of  two  years  and  eight 
months'  imprisonment,  were  hid  from  my  view. 
But  to  return  to  my  narrative.  Col.  Warner,  with 
the  rear  guard,  crossed  the  lake  and  joined  me 
early  in  the  morning,  whom  I  sent  off  without  loss 
of  time  with  about  one  hundred  men  to  take  pos 
session  of  Crown  Point,  which  was  garrisoned  with 
a  sergeant  and  twelve  men ;  which  he  took  posses 
sion  of  the  same  day,  as  also  of  upwards  of  one 
hundred  pieces  of  cannon. 

The  soldierly  qualities  exhibited  by  Allen 
in  the  expedition  seem  to  have  been,  first, 
reticence  or  concealment  of -purpose  from  the 
enemy;  second,  power  of  commanding  enthusi 
astic  obedience  from  his  men ;  third,  adaptation 
of  means  to  object;  fourth,  alacrity;  and,  fifth, 
courage.  Success  gave  a  brilliant  falat  to  this 
effort,  which  time  has  only  served  to  render 
more  brilliant. 

The  following  letters  written  by  Allen  fur- 


78  Ethan  Allen. 

nisli  us  with  additional  information  which 
makes  the  whole  affair  stand  out  vividly  for 
nineteenth-century  readers : 

TICONDEROGA,  May  nth,  1775. 
To  the  Massachusetts  Congress. 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  have  to  inform  you  with  pleasure 
unfelt  before,  that  on  break  of  day  of  the  loth  of 
May,  1775,  by  the  order  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  I  took  the  fortress  of 
Ticonderoga  by  storm.  The  soldiery  was  com 
posed  of  about  one  hundred  Green  Mountain  Boys 
and  near  fifty  veteran  soldiers  from  the  Province 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  latter  was  under 
the  command  of  Col.  James  Easton,  who  behaved 
with  great  zeal  and  fortitude  not  only  in  coun 
cil,  but  in  the  assault.  The  soldiery  behaved 
with  such  resistless  fury,  that  they  so  terrified  the 
King's  Troops  that  they  durst  not  fire  on  their  as 
sailants,  and  our  soldiery  was  agreeably  disap 
pointed.  The  soldiery  behaved  with  uncommon 
rancour  when  they  leaped  into  the  Fort:  and  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  Colonel  has  greatly 
contributed  to  the  taking  of  that  Fortress,  as  well 
as  John  Brown,  Esq.  Attorney  at  Law,  who  was 
also  an  able  counsellor,  and  was  personally  in  the 
attack.  I  expect  the  Colonies  will  maintain  this 
Fort.  As  to  the  cannon  and  warlike  stores,  I  hope 
they  may  serve  the  cause  of  liberty  instead  of 
tyranny,  and  I  humbly  implore  your  assistance  in 
immediately  assisting  the  Government  of  Connect- 


Capture  of  Ticonderoga.  79 

icut  in   establishing   a  garrison   in  the  reduced 
premises.     Col.  Easton  will  inform  you  at  large. 
From,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 

TICONDEROGA,  May  i2th,  1775. 

To   the  Honorable    Congress  of  the  Province  of    the 

Massachusetts  Bay  or  Council  of  War. 

HONORABLE  SIRS: — I  make  you  a  present  of  a 
major,  a  captain,  and  two  lieutenants  in  the  reg 
ular  establishment  for  George  the  Third.  I  hope 
they  may  serve  as  ransomes  for  some  of  our  friends 
at  Boston,  and  particularly  for  Captain  Brown  of 
Rhode  Island.  A  party  of  men  under  the  com 
mand  of  Capt.  Herrick  has  took  possession  of 
Skenesborough,  imprisoned  Major  Skene,  and 
seized  a  schooner  of  his.  I  expect  in  ten  days 
time  to  have  it  rigged,  manned,  and  armed  with 
six  or  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  which,  with  the 
boats  in  our  possession,  I  purpose  to  make  an  at 
tack  on  the  armed  sloop  of  George  the  Third  which 
is  now  cruising  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  is  about 
twice  as  big  as  the  schooner.  I  hope  in  a  short 
time  to  be  authorized  to  acquaint  your  Honor  that 
Lake  Champlain  and  the  fortifications  thereon  are 
subjected  to  the  Colonies.  The  enterprise  has 
been  approbated  by  the  officers  and  soldiery  of 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  nor  do  I  hesitate  as  to 
the  success.  I  expect  lives  must  be  lost  in  the 
attack,  as  the  commander  of  George's  sloop  is  a 
man  of  courage,  etc.  I  conclude  Capt.  Warner 


80  Ethan  Allen. 

is  by  this  time  in  possession  of  Crown  Point,  the 
ordnance,  stores,  etc.  I  conclude  Governor  Carle- 
ton  will  exert  himself  to  oppose  us,  and  com 
mand  the  Lake,  etc.  Messrs.  Hickok,  Halsey 
and  Nichols  have  the  charge  of  conducting  the 
officers  to  Hartford.  These  gentlemen  have  been 
very  assiduous  and  active  in  the  late  expedition. 
I  depend  upon  your  Honor's  aid  and  assistance 
in  a  situation  so  contiguous  to  Canada.  I  sub 
scribe  myself  your  Honor's  ever  faithful,  most 
obedient  and  humble  servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN, 
At  present  Commander  of  Ticonderoga. 

To  the  Honorable  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Esq.,  Capt.  Gen 
eral  and  Governor  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ALLEN'S  LETTERS  TO  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS, 
TO  THE  NEW  YORK  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS,  AND 
TO  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  CONGRESS. 

THE  Continental  Congress,  affected  by  sin 
ister  influences,  favored  the  removal  of  the 
stores  and  cannon  of  Ticonderoga  to  the  south 
end  of  Lake  George.  Allen  wrote  to  Congress 
a  vigorous  remonstrance.  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Connecticut  protested,  and  the 
project  was  abandoned.  On  May  2Qth,  1775, 
from  Crown  Point,  Allen  addressed  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  as  follows : 

An  abstract  of  the  action  of  Congress  has  just 
come  to  hand :  and  though  it  approves  of  the  tak 
ing  the  fortress  on  Lake  Champlain  and  the  artil 
lery,  etc. ,  I  am,  nevertheless,  much  surprised  that 
your  Honors  should  recommend  it  to  us  to  remove 
the  artillery  to  the  south  end  of  Lake  George,  and 
there  to  make  a  stand;  the  consequences  of  which 
must  ruin  the  frontier  settlements,  which  are  ex 
tended  at  least  one  hundred  miles  to  the  northward 
from  that  place.  Probably  your  Honors  were  not 

81 


82  Ethan  Allen. 

informed  of  those  settlements,  which  consist  of 
several  thousand  families  who  are  seated  on  that 
tract  of  country  called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants. 
Those  inhabitants,  by  making  those  valuable  ac 
quisitions  for  the  Colonies,  have  incensed  Gov 
ernor  Carleton  and  all  the  ministerial  party  in 
Canada  against  them ;  and  provided  they  should, 
after  all  their  good  service  in  behalf  of  their  coun 
try,  be  neglected  and  left  exposed,  they  will  be  of 
all  men  the  most  consummately  miserable.  .  .  . 
If  the  King's  troops  be  again  in  possession  of 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  and  command  the 
Lake,  the  Indians  and  Canadians  will  be  much  more 
inclined  to  join  with  them  and  make  incursions 
into  the  heart  of  our  country.  But  the  Colonies 
are  now  in  possession  and  actual  command  of  the 
Lake,  having  taken  the  armed  sloop  from  George 
the  Third,  which  was  cruising  in  the  Lake,  also 
seized  a  schooner  belonging  to  Major  Skene  at 
South  Bay,  and  have  armed  and  manned  them 
both.  .  .  .  The  Canadians  (all  except  the  noblesse) 
and  also  the  Indians  appear  at  present  to  be  very 
friendly  to  us ;  and  it  is  my  humble  opinion  that 
the  more  vigorous  the  Colonies  push  the  war 
against  the  King's  troops  in  Canada,  the  more 
friends  we  shall  find  in  that  country.  Provided  I 
had  but  500  men  with  me  at  St.  John's  (i8th  May) 
when  we  took  the  King's  sloop,  I  would  have  ad 
vanced  to  Montreal.  Nothing  strengthens  our 
friends  in  Canada  equal  to  our  prosperity  in  taking 
the  sovereignty  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  should 


Allen's   Letters.  83 

the  Colonies  forthwith  send  an  army  of  two  or 
three  thousand  men  and  attack  Montreal,  we  should 
have  little  to  fear  from  the  Canadians  or  Indians, 
and  should  easily  make  a  conquest  of  that  place, 
and  set  up  the  standard  of  liberty  in  the  extensive 
province  of  Quebec,  whose  limit  was  enlarged 
purely  to  subvert  the  liberties  of  America.  Strik 
ing  such  a  blow  would  intimidate  the  Tory  party 
in  Canada,  the  same  as  the  commencement  of  the 
war  at  Boston  intimidated  the  Tories  in  the  Colo 
nies.  They  are  a  set  of  gentlemen  that  will  not  be 
converted  by  reason,  but  are  easily  wrought  upon 
by  fear. 

By  a  council  of  war  held  on  board  the  sloop  the 
2  yth  instant,  it  was  agreed  to  advance  to  the  Point 
Auf  ere  with  the  sloop  and  schooner,  and  a  number 
of  armed  boats  well  manned,  and  there  make  a 
stand,  act  on  the  defensive,  and  by  all  means  com 
mand  the  Lake  and  defend  the  frontiers.  Point 
Aufere  is  about  six  miles  this  side  of  forty-five 
degrees  north  latitude,  but  if  the  wisdom  of  the 
Continental  Congress  should  view  the  proposed 
invasion  of  the  King's  troops  in  Canada  as  prema 
ture  or  impolitic,  nevertheless,  I  humbly  conceive, 
when  your  Honors  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
before-mentioned  facts,  you  will  at  least  establish 
some  advantageous  situation  toward  the  northerly 
part  of  Lake  Champlain,  as  a  frontier,  instead  of 
the  south  promontory  of  Lake  George.  Command 
ing  the  northerly  part  of  the  Lake,  puts  it  in  our 
power  to  work  our  policy  with  the  Canadians  and 


84  Ethan  Allen. 

Indians.  We  have  made  considerable  proficiency 
this  way  already.  Sundry  tribes  have  been  to 
visit  us,  and  have  returned  to  their  tribes  to  use 
their  influence  in  our  favor.  We  have  just  sent 
Capt.  Abraham  Ninham,  a  Stockbridge  Indian,  as 
our  embassador  of  peace  to  the  several  tribes  of 
Indians  in  Canada.  He  was  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Winthrop  Hoit,  who  has  been  a  prisoner  with  the 
Indians  and  understands  their  tongue.  I  do  not 
imagine,  provided  we  command  Lake  Champlain, 
there  will  be  any  need  of  a  war  with  the  Canadians 
or  Indians. 

On  June  2,  1775,  Allen  addressed  the  New 
York  Provincial  Congress: 

The  pork  forwarded  to  subsist  the  army,  by  your 
Honors'  direction,  evinces  your  approbation  of 
the  procedure ;  and  as  it  was  a  private  expedition, 
and  common  fame  reports  that  there  are  a  number 
of  overgrown  Tories  in  the  province,  your  Honors 
will  the  readier  excuse  me  in  not  first  taking  your 
advice  in  the  matter,  but  the  enterprises  might 
have  been  prevented  by  their  treachery.  It  is 
here  reported  that  some  of  them  have  been  lately 
savingly  converted,  and  that  others  have  lost  their 
influence.  If  in  those  achievements  there  be  any 
thing  honorary,  the  subjects  of  your  government, 
viz.,  the  New  Hampshire  settlers,  are  justly  en 
titled  to  a  large  share,  as  they  had  a  great  major 
ity  of  numbers  of  the  soldiery  as  well  as  the 


Allen  s    Letters.  85 

command  in  making  those  acquisitions,  and  as 
your  Honors  justify  and  approve  the  same. 

I  desire  and  expect  your  Honors  have,  or  soon 
will  lay  before  the  Grand  Continental  Congress, 
the  great  disadvantage  it  must  inevitably  be  to 
the  Colonies  to  evacuate  Lake  Champlain,  and 
give  up  to  the  enemies  of  our  country  those  inval 
uable  acquisitions,  the  key  of  either  Canada  or  our 
country,  according  as  which  party  holds  the  same 
in  possession  and  makes  a  proper  improvement  of 
it.  The  key  is  ours  as  yet,  and  provided  the 
Colonies  would  suddenly  push  an  army  of  two  or 
three  thousand  men  into  Canada,  they  might  make 
a  conquest  of  all  that  would  oppose  them  in  the 
extensive  province  of  Quebec,  except  a  reinforce 
ment  from  England  should  prevent  it.  Such  a 
diversion  would  weaken  General  Gage  or  insure 
us  of  Canada. 

I  wish  to  God  America  would  at  this  critical 
juncture  exert  herself  agreeable  to  the  indignity 
offered  her  by  a  tyrannical  ministry.  She  might 
rise  on  eagle's  wings,  and  mount  up  to  glory,  free 
dom,  and  immortal  honor  if  she  did  but  know  and 
exert  her  strength.  Fame  is  now  hovering  over 
her  head.  A  vast  continent  must  now  sink  to 
slavery,  poverty,  horror,  and  bondage,  or  rise  to 
unconquerable  freedom,  immense  wealth,  inex 
pressible  felicity,  and  immortal  fame. 

I  will  lay  my  life  on  it,  with  fifteen  hundred 
men  and  a  proper  train  of  artillery  I  will  take 
Montreal.  Provided  I  could  be  thus  furnished  and 


86  Ethan  Allen. 

if  an  army  could  command  the  field,  it  would  be 
no  insuperable  difficulty  to  take  Quebec.  This 
object  should  be  pursued,  though  it  should  take 
ten  thousand  men  to  accomplish  the  end  proposed ; 
for  England  cannot  spare  but  a  certain  number  of 
her  troops,  anyway,  she  has  but  a  small  number 
that  are  disciplined  [this  was  months  before  the 
Hessians  and  other  mercenaries  were  hired],  and 
it  is  as  long  as  it  is  broad  the  more  that  are  sent  to 
Quebec,  the  less  they  can  send  to  Boston,  or  any 
other  part  of  the  continent. 

Our  friends  in  Canada  can  never  help  us  until 
we  first  help  them,  except  in  a  passive  or  inactive 
manner.  There  are  now  about  seven  hundred 
regular  troops  in  Canada.  I  have  lately  had 
sundry  conferences  with  the  Indians;  they  are 
very  friendly.  Capt.  Abraham  Ninham,  a  Stock- 
bridge  Indian,  and  Mr.  Winthrop  Hoit,  who  has 
sundry  years  lived  with  the  Caughnawgoes  in  the 
capacity  of  a  prisoner  and  was  made  an  adopted 
son  to  a  motherly  squaw  of  that  tribe,  have  both 
been  gone  ten  days  to  treat  with  the  Indians  as 
our  embassadors  of  peace  and  friendship.  I  ex 
pect  in  a  few  weeks  to  hear  from  them.  By  them 
I  sent  a  friendly  letter  to  the  Indians  which  Mr. 
Hoit  can  explain  to  them  in  Indian.  The  thing 
that  so  unites  the  Indians  to  us  is  our  taking  the 
sovereignty  of  Lake  Champlain.  They  have  wit 
enough  to  make  a  good  bargain,  and  stand  by  the 
strongest  side.  Much  the  same  may  be  said  of 
the  Canadians. 


Allen  s   Letters.  87 

It  may  be  thought  that  to  push  an  army  into 
Canada  would  be  too  premature  and  imprudent. 
If  so,  I  propose  to  make  a  stand  at  the  Isle-aux- 
Noix  which  the  French  fortified  by  intrenchment 
the  last  war,  and  greatly  fatigued  our  large  army 
to  take  it.  It  is  about  fifteen  miles  this  side  St. 
John's.  Our  only  having  it  in  our  power  thus  to 
make  incursions  into  Canada,  might  probably  be 
the  very  reason  why  it  would  be  unnecessary  to 
do  so,  even  if  the  Canadians  should  prove  more 
refractory  than  I  think  for. 

Lastly,  with  submission  I  would  propose  to  your 
Honors  to  raise  a  small  regiment  of  Rangers, 
which  I  could  easily  do,  and  that  mostly  in  the 
counties  of  Albany  and  Charlotte,  provided  your 
Honors  should  think  it  expedient  to  grant  com 
missions  and  thus  regulate  and  put  the  same  under 
pay.  Probably  your  Honors  may  think  this  an 
impertinent  proposal  :  it  is  truly  the  first  favor  I 
ever  asked  of  the  Government,  and  if  it  be  granted, 
I  shall  be  zealously  ambitious  to  conduct  for  the 
best  good  of  my  country  and  the  honor  of  the 
Government. 


On  June  Qth  Allen  addressed  the  Massachu 
setts  Congress  : 

These  armed  vessels  are  at  present  abundantly 
sufficient  to  command  the  Lake.  The  making 
these  acquisitions  has  greatly  attached  the  Cana 
dians,  and  more  especially  the  Indians,  to  our 
interest.  They  have  no  personal  prejudice  or  con- 


88  Ethan   Allen. 

troversy  with  the  United  Colonies,  but  act  upon 
political  principles,  and  consequently  are  inclined 
to  fall  in  with  the  strongest  side.  At  present  ours 
has  the  appearance  of  it ;  as  there  are  at  present 
but  seven  hundred  regular  troops  in  all  the  differ 
ent  parts  of  Canada.  Add  to  this  the  consideration 
of  the  imperious  and  haughty  conduct  of  the  troops, 
which  has  much  alienated  the  affections  of  both 
the  Canadians  and  Indians  from  them.  Probably 
there  may  soon  be  more  troops  from  England  sent 
there,  but  at  present  you  may  rely  on  it  that 
Canada  is  in  a  weak  and  helpless  condition.  Two 
or  three  thousand  men,  conducted  by  intrepid  com 
manders,  would  at  this  juncture  make  a  conquest 
of  the  ministerial  party  in  Canada  with  such  ad 
ditional  numbers  as  may  be  supposed  to  vie  with 
the  reinforcements  that  may  be  sent  from  Eng 
land.  Such  a  plan  would  make  a  diversion  in 
favor  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  who  have  been  too 
much  burdened  with  the  calamity  that  should  be 
more  general,  as  all  partake  of  the  salutary  effects 
of  their  valor  and  merit  in  the  defence  of  the  liber 
ties  of  America.  I  hope,  gentlemen,  you  wrill  use 
your  influence  in  forwarding  men,  provisions,  and 
every  article  for  the  army  that  may  be  thought 
necessary.  Blankets,  provisions,  and  powder  are 
scarce. 


CHAPTER     IX. 

ALLEN'S  LETTERS  TO  THE  MONTREAL  MERCHANTS, 
TO  THE  INDIANS  IN  CANADA,  AND  TO  THE 
CANADIANS. JOHN  BROWN. 

THE  letters  to  the  Indians  and  Canadians 
to  which  Allen  has  referred  show  still  more 
clearly  the  vigorous  policy  and  the  adroitness 
which  Allen  displayed  in  the  preparations  for 
the  invasion  of  Canada.  He  wrote  to  the  Mon 
treal  merchants : 

ST.  JOHN'S,  May  i8th. 

To  Mr.  James  Morrison  and  the  Merchants  that  are 

friendly  to  the  Cause  of  Liberty  in  Montreal. 

GENTLEMEN: — I  have  the  pleasure  to  acquaint 

you  that  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  with  the 

fortresses,   artillery,   etc.,  particularly  the  armed 

sloop  of  George  the  Third,  with  all  water  carriages 

of  these  lakes,  are  now  in  possession  of  the  Colonies. 

I  expect  the  English  merchants,   as  well  as   all 

virtuous  disposed  gentlemen,  will  be  in  the  interest 

of  the  Colonies.     The  advanced  guard  of  the  army 

is  now  at  St.  John's,  and  desire  immediately   to 

have  a  personal  intercourse  with  you.     Your  im- 

7  89 


90  Ethan   Allen. 

mediate  assistance  as  to  provisions,  ammunition, 
and  spirituous  liquors  is  wanted  and  forthwith  ex 
pected,  not  as  a  donation,  for  I  am  empowered  by 
the  Colonies  to  purchase  the  same ;  and  I  desire 
you  would  forthwith  and  without  further  notice 
prepare  for  the  use  of  the  army  those  articles  to 
the  amount  of  five  hundred  pounds,  and  deliver 
the  same  to  me  at  St.  John's,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it 
almost  instantaneously,  as  the  soldiers  press  on 
faster  than  provisions. 

I  need  not  inform  you  that  my  directions  from 
the  Colonies  are,  not  to  contend  with  or  any  way 
injure  or  molest  the  Canadians  or  Indians;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  treat  them  with  the  greatest 
friendship  and  kindness.  You  will  be  pleased  to 
communicate  the  same  to  them,  and  some  of  you 
immediately  visit  me  at  this  place,  while  others 
are  active  in  delivering  the  provisions. 

On  May  24,  1775,  Allen  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Indians  of  Canada : 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,  CROWN  POINT. 

By  advice  of  council  of  the  officers,  I  recommend 
our  trusty  and  well-beloved  friend  and  brother, 
Capt.  Abraham  Ninham  of  Stockbridge,  as  our  em- 
bassador  of  peace  to  our  good  brother  Indians  of 
the  four  tribes,  viz.,  the  Hocnaurigoes,  the  Sur- 
gaches,  the  Canesadaugaus  and  the  Saint  Fransa- 
was. 

Loving  brothers  and  friends,  I  have  to  inform 
you  that  George  the  Third,  King  of  England,  has 


Canadian  Letters.  91 

made  war  with  the  English  Colonies  in  America, 
who  have  ever  until  now  been  his  good  subjects, 
and  sent  his  army  and  killed  some  of  your  good 
friends  and  brothers  at  Boston,  in  the  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay.  Then  your  good  brothers 
in  that  Province,  and  in  all  the  Colonies  of  Eng 
lish  America,  made  war  with  King  George  and 
have  begun  to  kill  the  men  of  his  army,  and  have 
taken  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  from  him,  and 
all  the  artillery,  and  also  a  great  sloop  which  was 
at  St.  Johns,  and  all  the  boats  in  the  lake,  and 
have  raised  and  are  raising  two  great  armies ;  one 
is  destined  for  Boston,  and  the  other  for  the  for 
tresses  and  department  of  Lake  Champlain,  to 
fight  the  King's  troops  that  oppose  the  Colonies 
from  Canada ;  and  as  King  George's  soldiers  killed 
our  brothers  and  friends  in  a  time  of  peace,  I  hope, 
as  Indians  are  good  and  honest  men,  you  will  not 
fight  for  King  George  against  your  friends  in 
America,  as  they  have  done  you  no  wrong,  and 
desire  to  live  with  you  as  brothers.  You  know  it 
is  good  for  my  warriors  and  Indians  too,  to  kill  the 
Regulars,  because  they  first  began  to  kill  our 
brothers  in  this  country  without  cause. 

I  was  always  a  friend  to  Indians  and  have 
hunted  with  them  many  times,  and  know  how  to 
shoot  and  ambush  like  Indians,  and  am  a  great 
hunter.  I  want  to  have  your  warriors  come  and 
see  me,  and  help  me  fight  the  King's  Regular 
troops.  You  know  they  stand  all  along  close  to 
gether  rank  and  file,  and  my  men  fight  so  as 


92  Ethan  Allen. 

Indians  do,  and  I  want  your  warriors  to  join  with 
me  and  my  warriors  like  brothers  and  ambush  the 
Regulars:  if  you  will  I  will  give  you  money, 
blankets,  tomahawks,  knives,  paint,  and  anything 
there  is  in  the  army,  just  like  brothers ;  and  I  will 
go  with  you  into  the  woods  to  sgout,  and  my  men 
and  your  men  will  sleep  together  and  eat  and  drink 
together,  and  fight  Regulars  because  they  first 
killed  our  brothers  and  will  fight  against  us; 
therefore  I  want  our  brother  Indians  to  help  us 
fight,  for  I  know  Indians  are  good  warriors  and 
can  fight  well  in  the  bush. 

Ye  know  my  warriors  must  fight,  but  if  you,  our 
brother  Indians,  do  not  fight  on  either  side,  \ve 
will  still  be  friends  and  brothers ;  and  you  may 
come  and  hunt  in  our  woods,  and  come  with  your 
canoes  in  the  lake,  and  let  us  have  venison  at  our 
forts  on  the  lake,  and  have  rum,  bread,  and  what 
you  want,  and  be  like  brothers.  I  have  sent  our 
friend  Winthrop  Hoit  to  treat  with  you  on  our  be 
half  in  friendship.  You  know  him,  for  he  has 
lived  with  you,  and  is  your  adopted  son,  and  is  a 
good  man ;  Captain  Ninham  of  Stockbridge  and 
he  will  tell  you  about  the  whole  matter  more  than 
I  can  write.  I  hope  your  warriors  will  come  and 
see  me.  So  I  bid  all  my  brother  Indians  farewell. 

ETHAN  ALLEN, 
Colonel  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

Two  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter  Allen 
sent  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Assembly  of  Connect!- 


Canadian  Letters.  93 

cut,  saying :  "  I  thought  it  advisable  that  the 
Honorable  Assembly  should  be  informed  of  all 
our  politicks." 

Allen  shows  great  shrewdness  in  adapting 
his  letters  to  what  he  considers  the  aboriginal 
mind.  Addressing  the  Indians?  constantly  as 
brothers  he  appeals  to  their  love  of  bush-fight 
ing,  and  as  regards  the  question  of  barter,  to 
their  love  of  rum.  By  his  reiteration  he  rec 
ognizes  the  childish  immaturity  of  the  Indian. 
Far  differently  he  addresses  the  Canadians,  to 
whose  reason  he  appeals  and  whose  sense  of 
justice  he  compliments : 

TICONDEROGA,  June  4. 

Countrymen  and  Friends,  the  French  people  of  Canada, 
greeting: 

FRIENDS  AND  FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN:  —  You  are 
undoubtedly  more  or  less  acquainted  with  the 
unnatural  and  unhappy  controversy  subsisting 
between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies,  the 
particulars  of  which  in  this  letter  we  do  not  ex 
patiate  upon,  but  refer  your  considerations  of  the 
justice  and  equitableness  thereof  on  the  part  of 
the  Colonies,  to  the  former  knowledge  that  you 
have  of  this  matter.  We  need  only  observe  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Colonies  view  the  con 
troversy  on  their  part  to  be  justifiable  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  all  unprejudiced  and  honest  men  that 


94  Ethan  Allen. 

have  or  may  have  opportunity  and  ability  to  ex 
amine  into  the  merits  of  it.  Upon  this  principle 
those  inhabitants  determine  to  vindicate  their 
cause,  and  maintain  their  natural  and  constitu 
tional  rights  and  liberties  at  the  expense  of  their 
lives  and  fortunes,  but  have  not  the  least  disposi 
tion  to  injure,  molest,  or  in  any  way  deprive  our 
fellow-subjects,  the  Canadians,  of  their  liberty  or 
property.  Nor  have  they  any  design  to  urge  war 
against  them ;  and  from  all  intimations  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  said  Colonies  have  received 
from  the  Canadians,  it  has  appeared  that  they 
were  alike  disposed  for  friendship  and  neutrality, 
and  not  at  all  disposed  to  take  part  with  the  King's 
troops  in  the  present  civil  war  against  the  Colonies. 
We  were,  nevertheless,  surprised  to  hear  that  a 
number  of  about  thirty  Canadians  attacked  our 
reconnoitring  party  consisting  of  four  men,  fired 
on  them,  and  pursued  them,  and  obliged  them  to 
return  the  fire.  This  is  the  account  of  the  party 
that  has  since  arrived  at  headquarters.  We 
desire  to  know  of  any  gentlemen  Canadians  the 
facts  of  the  case,  as  one  story  is  good  until  another 
is  told.  Our  general  order  to  the  soldiery  was, 
that  they  should  not,  on  pain  of  death,  molest  or 
kill  any  of  your  people.  But  if  it  shall  appear, 
upon  examination,  that  our  reconnoitring  party 
commenced  hostilities  against  your  people,  they 
shall  suffer  agreeable  to  the  sentence  of  a  court- 
martial  ;  for  our  special  orders  from  the  Colonies 
are  to  befriend  and  protect  you  if  need  be ;  so  that 


Canadian  Letters.  95 

if  you  desire  their  friendship  you  are  invited  to 
embrace  it,  for  nothing  can  be  more  undesirable 
to  your  friends  in  the  Colonies,  than  a  war  with 
their  fellow-subjects  the  Canadians,  or  with  the 
Indians. 

Hostilities  have  already  begun;  to  fight  with 
the  King's  troops  has  become  a  necessary  and  in 
cumbent  duty ;  the  Colonies  cannot  avoid  it.  But 
pray,  is  it  necessary  that  the  Canadians  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  English  Colonies  should  butcher 
one  another?  God  forbid!  There  is  no  contro 
versy  subsisting  between  you  and  them.  Pray  let 
old  England  and  the  Colonies  fight  it  out,  and  you, 
Canadians,  stand  by  and  see  what  an  arm  of  flesh 
can  do.  We  conclude,  Saint  Luke,  Captain  Mc 
Coy,  and  other  evil-minded  persons  whose  interest 
and  inclination  is  that  the  Canadians  and  the  peo 
ple  of  these  Colonies  should  cut  one  another's 
throats,  have  inveigled  some  of  the  baser  sort  of 
your  people  to  attack  our  said  reconnoitring  party. 

Allen  signed  this  letter  as  "  At  present  the 
Principal  Commander  of  the  Army." 

A  copy  of  it  was  sent  to  Mr.  Walker  at  Mon 
treal  by  Mr.  Jeff  ere.  Another  copy  was  sent 
to  the  New  York  Provincial  Congress. 

John  Brown,  a  young  lawyer  of  Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts,  was  the  cause  of  Ethan  Allen's 
long,  terrible  captivity.  That  alone  justifies 
our  curiosity  to  know  all  about  him.  In  March, 


g6  Ethan  Allen. 

before  the  war,  he  made  an  eventful  trip  to 
Montreal,  going  along  our  borders,  crossing 
the  lakes,  visiting  Bennington,  engaging  two 
pilots,  contracting  with  the  foremost  men 
there,  spending  days  investigating  the  status 
of  affairs  in  Canada  as  to  the  coming  struggle. 
Reporting  to  his  employers,  Samuel  Adams 
and  Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  he  says  that  after 
stopping  about  a  fortnight  at  Albany  he  was 
fourteen  days  journeying  to  St.  John's,  under 
going  inconceivable  hardships ;  the  lake  very 
high,  the  country  for  twenty  miles  each 
side  under  water ;  the  ice  breaking  loose  for 
miles ;  two  days  frozen  in  to  an  island ;  "  we 
were  glad  to  foot  it  on  land;"  "there  is  no 
prospect  of  Canada  sending  delegates  to  the 
Continental  Congress. "  He  speaks  of  his 
pilot,  Peleg  Sunderland,  as  "an  old  Indian 
hunter  acquainted  with  the  St.  Francis  Indians 
and  their  language."  The  other  pilot  was  a 
captive  many  years  ago  among  the  Caughnawa- 
ga  Indians.  This  last  was  Winthrop  Hoit,  of 
Bennington.  These  two  men  were  famous  for 
their  familiarity  with  Indian  ways  and  speech, 
as  well  as  for  general  prowess,  and  their  ex 
ploits  in  "  beech-sealing"  the  Yorkers.  Several 
days  Sunderland  and  Hoit  were  among  the 


Canadian  Letters.  97 

Caughnawagas,  studying  their  manifestations 
of  feeling  toward  the  colonists.  Brown  gave 
letters  to  Thomas  Walker  and  Blake,  and 
pamphlets  to  four  cures  in  La  Prairie.  He 
was  kindly  received  by  the  local  committee, 
who  told  him  about  Canadian  politics,  that 
Governor  Carleton  was  no  great  politician,  a 
man  of  sour,  morose  temper,  and  so  forth. 
Brown  wrote  Adams  and  Warren  he  should 
not  go  to  Quebec,  "  as  a  number  of  their  com 
mittee  are  here, "but  "I  shall  tarry  here  some 
time."  "I  have  established  a  channel  of 
correspondence  through  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  which  may  be  depended  on."  "One 
thing  I  must  mention,  to  be  kept  as  a  profound 
secret.  The  fort  at  Ticonderoga  must  be 
seized  as  soon  as  possible  should  hostilities  be 
committed  by  the  King's  troops.  The  people 
on  New  Hampshire  Grants  have  engaged  to  do 
this  business"  This  letter  was  dated  three 
weeks  before  the  Lexington  and  Concord  fights 
electrified  the  continent. 


CHAPTER  X. 

WARNER     ELECTED     COLONEL    OF    THE     GREEN     MOUN 
TAIN    BOYS. — ALLEN'S    LETTER    TO    GOVERNOR 

TRUMBULL. CORRESPONDENCE     IN     REGARD      TO 

THE     INVASION    OF    CANADA. ATTACK    ON    MON 
TREAL. DEFEAT       AND     CAPTURE. WARNER'S 

REPORT. 

ON  July  27th  committees  of  towns  met  at 
Dorset  to  choose  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
regiment,  and  thus  of  those  Green  Mountain 
Boys  for  whose  organization  Allen  had  been 
so  active  and  efficient  with  both  the  Continen 
tal  and  New  York  Congresses.  Seth  Warner 
received  forty-one  of  the  forty-six  votes  cast. 
Deep  was  Allen's  chagrin  and  mortification, 
as  appears  in  the  following  letter  to  Governor 
Trumbull : 

TICONDEROGA,  August  3,  177$. 
HONORED  SIR: — General  Schuyler  exerts  his 
utmost  in  building  boats  and  making  preparations 
for  the  army  to  advance,  as  I  suppose,  to  St. 
John's,  etc.  We  have  an  insufficient  store  of  pro 
visions  for  such  an  undertaking,  though  the  pro- 

98 


Attack  on  Montreal.  99 

jection  is  now  universally  approved.  Provisions 
are  hurrying-  forward,  but  not  so  fast  as  I  could 
hope  for.  General  Wooster's  corps  has  not  ar 
rived.  I  fear  there  is  some  treachery  among  the 
New  York  Tory  party  relative  to  forwarding  the 
expedition,  though  I  am  confident  that  the  General 
is  faithful.  No  troops  from  New  York,  except  some 
officers,  have  arrived,  though  it  is  given  out  that 
they  will  soon  be  here.  The  General  tells  me 
he  does  not  want  any  more  troops  till  more  pro 
visions  come  to  hand,  which  he  is  hurrying ;  and 
ordered  the  troops  under  General  Wooster,  part 
to  be  billeted  in  the  mean  while  at  Albany  and 
part  to  mend  the  road  from  there  to  Lake  George. 

It  is  indeed  an  arduous  work  to  furnish  an  army 
to  prosecute  an  enterprise.  In  the  interim,  I  am 
apprehensive,  the  enemy  are  forming  one  against 
us ;  witness  the  sailing  of  the  transports  and  two 
men  of  war  from  Boston,  as  it  is  supposed  for 
Quebeck.  Probably,  it  appears  that  the  King's 
Troops  are  discouraged  of  making  incursions  into 
the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  Likely 
they  will  send  part  of  their  force  to  overawe  the 
Canadians,  and  inveigle  the  Indians  into  their 
interest.  I  fear  the  Colonies  have  been  too  slow 
in  their  resolutions  and  preparations  relative  to 
this  department;  but  hope  they  may  still  succeed. 

Notwithstanding  my  zeal  and  success  in  my 
country's  cause,  the  old  farmers  on  the  New  Hamp 
shire  Grants  (who  do  not  incline  to  go  to  war) 
have  met  in  a  committee  meeting,  and  in  their 


ioo  Ethan  Allen. 

nomination  of  officers  for  the  regiment  of  Green 
Mountain  Boys  (who  are  quickly  to  be  raised) 
have  wholly  omitted  me ;  but  as  the  commissions 
will  come  from  the  Continental  Congress,  I  hope 
they  will  remember  me,  as  I  desire  to  remain  in 
the  service,  and  remain  your  Honor's  most  obe 
dient  and  humble  servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 

To  the  Hon.  Jona.   Trumbull,  Governor  of  the  Colony  of 
Connecticut. 

N.  B. — General  Schuyler  will  transmit  to  your 
Honors  a  copy  of  the  affidavits  of  two  intelligent 
friends,  who  have  just  arrived  from  Canada.  I 
apprehend  that  what  they  have  delivered  is  truth. 
I  find  myself  in  the  favor  of  the  officers  of  the 
Army  and  the  young  Green  Mountain  Boys.  How 
the  old  men  came  to  reject  me  I  cannot  conceive, 
inasmuch  as  I  saved  them  from  the  encroach 
ments  of  New  York.  E.  A. 

This  Jonathan  Trumbull,  be  it  remembered, 
was  the  original  "  Brother  Jonathan." 

Allen's  first  connection  with  the  campaign 
in  Canada  is  explained  in  his  own  narrative : 

Early  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  the  little  army 
under  the  command  of  the  Generals  Schuyler  and 
Montgomery  were  ordered  to  advance  into  Can 
ada.  I  was  at  Ticonderoga  when  this  order  ar 
rived;  and  the  General,  with  most  of  the  field 
officers,  requested  me  to  attend  them  in  the  ex- 


Attack  on  Montreal.  J  :ioi 

pedition;  and  though  at  that  time  I  had  no  com 
mission  from  Congress,  yet  they  engaged  me,  that 
I  should  be  considered  as  an  officer,  the  same  as 
though  I  had  a  commission ;  and  should,  as  occa 
sion  might  require,  command  certain  detachments 
of  the  army.  This  I  considered  as  an  honorable 
offer,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  comply  with  it. 

September  8,  1775,  from  St.  Therese,  James 
Livingston  wrote  to  General  Schuyler: 

Your  manifestos  came  to  hand,  and  despatched 
them  off  to  the  different  Parishes  with  all  possi 
ble  care  and  expedition.  The  Canadians  are  all 
friends,  and  a  spirit  of  freedom  seems  to  reign 
amongst  them.  Colonel  Allen,  Major  Brown  and 
myself  set  off  this  morning  with  a  party  of  Cana 
dians  with  intention  to  go  to  your  army ;  but  hear 
ing  of  a  party  of  Indians  waiting  for  us  the  same 
side  of  the  river,  we  thought  it  most  prudent  to 
retire  in  order,  if  possible,  to  raise  a  more  con 
siderable  party  of  men.  We  shall  drop  down  the 
River  Chambly,  as  far  as  my  house,  where  a 
number  of  Canadians  are  waiting  for  us. 

September  10,  1775,  at  Isle-aux-Noix,  Gen 
eral  Schuyler  in  his  orders  to  Colonel  Ritzemd, 
who  was  going  into  Canada  with  five  hundred 
men,  says: 

Colonel  Allen  and  Major  Brown  have  orders  to 
request  that  provisions  may  be  brought  to  you, 


IO2  Ethan  Allen. 

which  must  be  punctually  paid  for,  for  which 
purpose  I  have  furnished  you  with  the  sum  of 
^"318  is.  lod.  in  gold. 

September  15,  1775,  at  Isle-aux-Noix,  Gen 
eral  Schuyler  received  from  James  Livingston 
a  report  in  which  he  says : 

Yesterday  morning,  I  sent  a  party  each  side  of 
the  river,  Colonel  Allen  at  their  head,  to  take  the 
vessels  at  Sorel,  by  surprise  if  possible.  Numbers 
of  people  flock  to  them,  and  make  no  doubt  they 
will  carry  their  point.  I  have  cut  off  the  commu 
nication  from  Montreal  to  Chambly.  We  have 
nothing  to  fear  here  at  present  but  a  few  seign 
eurs  in  the  country  endeavoring  to  raise  forces. 
I  hope  Colonel  Allen's  presence  will  put  a  stop 
to  it. 

September  8,  1775,  at  Isle-aux-Noix,  Schuy 
ler  writes  Hancock : 

I  hope  to  hear  in  a  day  or  two  from  Colonel 
Allen  and  Major  Brown,  who  went  to  deliver  my 
declaration. 

This  refers  to  Schuyler's  address  to  the  in 
habitants  of  Canada,  dated  Isle-aux-Noix,  Sep 
tember  5,  1775. 

From  Isle-aux-Noix,  September  14,  1775, 
Ethan  Allen  reports  to  General  Schuyler: 


Attack  on  Montreal.  103 

Set  out  from  Isle-aux-Noix  on  the  8th  instant; 
arrived  at  Chambly;  found  the  Canadians  in  that 
vicinity  friendly.  They  guarded  me  under  arms 
night  and  day,  escorted  me  through  the  woods 
as  I  desired,  and  showed  me  every  courtesy  I 
could  wish  for.  The  news  of  my  being  in  this 
place  excited  many  captains  of  the  Militia  and 
respectable  gentlemen  of  the  Canadians  to  visit 
and  converse  with  me,  as  I  gave  out  I  was  sent  by 
General  Schuyler  to  manifest  his  friendly  inten 
tions  toward  them,  and  delivered  the  General's 
written  manifesto  to  them  to  the  same  purpose. 
I  likewise  sent  a  messenger  to  the  chiefs  of  the 
Caughnawaga  Indians,  demanding  the  cause  why 
sundry  of  the  Indians  had  taken  up  arms  against 
the  United  Colonies;  they  had  sent  two  of  their 
chiefs  to  me,  who  plead  that  it  was  contrary  to  the 
will  and  orders  of  their  chiefs.  The  King's  troops 
gave  them  rum  and  inveigled  them  to  fight  against 
General  Schuyler;  that  they  had  sent  their  run 
ners  and  ordered  them  to  depart  from  St.  John's, 
averring  their  friendship  to  the  Colonies.  Mean 
while  the  Sachems  held  a  General  Council,  sent 
two  of  their  Captains  and  some  beads  and  a  wam 
pum  belt  as  a  lasting  testimony  of  their  friendship, 
and  that  they  would  not  take  up  arms  on  either 
side.  These  tokens  of  friendship  were  delivered 
to  me,  agreeable  to  their  ceremony,  in  a  solemn 
manner,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  auditory  of 
Canadians,  who  approved  of  the  league  and  man 
ifested  friendship  to  the  Colonies,  and  testified 


IO4  Ethan  Allen. 

their  good-will  on  account  of  the  advance  of  the 
army  into  Canada.  Their  fears  (as  they  said) 
were,  that  our  army  was  too  weak  to  protect  them 
against  the  severity  of  the  English  Government, 
as  a  defeat  on  our  part  would  expose  our  friends 
in  Canada  to  it.  In  this  dilemma  our  friends 
expressed  anxiety  of  mind.  It  furthermore  ap 
peared  to  me  that  many  of  the  Canadians  were 
watching  the  scale  of  power,  whose  attraction 
attracted  them.  In  fine,  our  friends  in  Canada 
earnestly  urged  that  General  Schuyler  should  im 
mediately  environ  St.  John's,  and  that  they  would 
assist  in  cutting  off  the  communication  between 
St.  John's  and  Chambly,  and  between  these  forts 
and  Montreal.  They  furthermore  assured  me  that 
they  would  help  our  army  to  provisions,  etc. ,  and 
that  if  our  army  did  not  make  a  conquest  of  the 
King's  garrisons,  they  would  be  exposed  to  the 
resentment  of  the  English  Government,  which 
they  dreaded,  and  consequently  the  attempt  of 
the  army  into  Canada  would  be  to  them  the  great 
est  evil.  They  further  told  me  that  some  of  the 
inhabitants,  that  were  in  their  hearts  friendly  to 
us,  would,  to  extricate  themselves,  take  up  arms 
in  favor  of  the  Crown ;  and  therefore,  that  it  was 
of  the  last  importance  to  them,  as  well  as  to  us, 
that  the  army  immediately  attack  St.  John's; 
which  would  cause  them  to  take  tip  arms  in  our 
favor.  Governor  Carleton  threatens  the  Canadians 
with  fire  and  sword,  except  they  assist  him  against 
the  Colonies,  and  the  seigneurs  urge  them  to  it. 


Attack  on  Montreal.  105 

They  have  withstood  Carletonand  them,  and  keep 
under  arms  throughout  most  of  their  Parishes,  and 
are  now  anxiously  watching  the  scale  of  power. 
This  is  the  situation  of  affairs  in  Canada,  accord 
ing  to  my  most  painful  discovery.  Given  under 
my  hand,  upon  honor,  this  1 4th  day  of  September, 
1775.  ETHAN  ALLEN. 

To  his  Excellency  General  Schuyler. 

With  one  more  letter  from  Allen  (to  General 
Montgomery)  we  will  close  his  correspondence 
on  the  invasion  of  Canada,  which  he  so  strongly 
urged,  so  shrewdly  planned,  and  yet  which 
failed  from  lack  of  the  co-operation  of  others : 

ST.  TOURS,  September  20,  1775. 
EXCELLENT  SIR  : — I  am  now  in  the  Parish  of  St. 
Tours,  four  leagues  to  the  south ;  have  two  hun- 
dred  and  fifty  Canadians  under  arms;  as  I  march 
they  gather  fast.  These  are  the  objects  of  taking 
the  vessels  in  Sorel  and  General  Carleton.  These 
objects  I  pass  by  to  assist  the  army  besieging  St. 
John's.  If  this  place  be  taken  the  country  is  ours ; 
if  we  miscarry  in  this,  all  other  achievements  will 
profit  but  little.  I  am  fearful  our  army  may  be 
too  sickly,  and  that  the  siege  may  be  hard ;  there 
fore  choose  to  assist  in  conquering  St.  John's, 
which,  of  consequence,  conquers  the  whole.  You 
may  rely  on  it  that  I  shall  join  you  in  about  three 
days,  with  three  hundred  or  more  Canadian  volun 
teers.  I  could  raise  one  or  two  thousand  in  a 
8 


io6  Ethan  Allen. 

week's  time,  but  will  first  visit  the  army  with  a 
less  number,  and  if  necessary  will  go  again  re 
cruiting.  Those  that  used  to  be  enemies  to  our 
cause  come  cap  in  hand  to  me,  and  I  swear  by  the 
Lord  I  can  raise  three  times  the  number  of  our 
army  in  Canada,  provided  you  continue  the  siege ; 
all  depends  on  that.  It  is  the  advice  of  the  offi 
cers  with  me,  that  I  speedily  repair  to  the  army. 
God  grant  you  wisdom,  fortitude  and  every  ac 
complishment  of  a  victorious  general;  the  eyes 
of  all  America,  nay,  of  Europe,  are  or  will  be  on 
the  economy  of  this  army,  and  the  consequences 
attending  it.  I  am  your  most  obedient  humble 

servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 

P.  S.  — I  have  purchased  six  hogsheads  of  rum, 
and  sent  a  sergeant  with  a  small  party  to  deliver 
it  at  headquarters.  Mr.  Livingston,  and  others 
under  him,  will  provide  what  fresh  beef  you  need ; 
as  to  bread  and  flour,  I  am  forwarding  what  I  can. 
You  may  rely  on  my  utmost  attention  to  this  ob 
ject,  as  well  as  raising  auxiliaries.  I  know  the 
ground  is  swampy  and  bad  for  raising  batteries, 
but  pray  let  no  object  of  obstructions  be  insur 
mountable.  The  glory  of  a  victory,  which  will  be 
attended  with  such  important  consequences,  will 
crown  all  our  fatigue,  risks,  and  labors ;  to  fail  of 
victory  will  be  an  eternal  disgrace ;  but  to  obtain 
it  will  elevate  us  on  the  wings  of  fame. 
Yours,  etc., 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 


Attack  on  Montreal.  107 

On  September  i/th,  three  and  a  half  months 
after  Allen  urged  the  invasion  of  Canada, 
Montgomery  began  the  siege  of  St.  John's. 
Two  or  three  days  later  Warner  arrived  with 
his  regiment  of  Green  Mountain  Boys.  Ar 
nold,  not  behind  in  energy  and  daring,  cap 
tured  a  British  sloop. 

On  September  24th  Allen,  with  about  eighty 
men,  chiefly  Canadians, met  Major  John  Brown, 
with  about  two  hundred  Americans  and  Cana 
dians,  and  Brown  proposed  to  attack  Montreal. 
It  was  agreed  that  Brown  should  cross  the  St. 
Lawrence  that  night  above  the  city,  while  Allen 
crossed  it  below.  Allen  added  about  thirty 
English- Americans  to  his  force  and  crossed. 
The  cause  of  Brown's  failure  to  meet  him  has 
never  been  explained.  Several  hundred  Eng 
lish-Canadians  and  Indians  with  forty  regular 
soldiers  attacked  Allen,  and  for  two  hours  he 
bravely  and  skilfully  fought  a  force  several 
times  larger  than  his  own.  Most  of  Allen's 
Canadian  allies  deserted  him,  and  with  thirty 
of  his  men  he  was  finally  captured,  loaded  with 
irons,  and  transported  to  England. 

Thus,  within  five  months,  Allen,  who  had 
never  before  seen  a  battle  or  an  army,  who 
had  never  been  trained  as  a  soldier,  becomes 


io8  Ethan  Allen. 

famous  by  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga;  is  in 
fluential  in  preventing  the  abandonment  of 
Ticonderoga ;  is  foremost  in  the  institution  of 
a  regiment  of  Green  Mountain  Boys ;  is  re 
jected  by  that  regiment  as  its  commanding 
officer;  is  successful  in  raising  the  Canadians; 
urges  Congress  to  invade  Canada;  fails  from 
lack  of  support  in  his  attack  on  Montreal ;  in 
five  short  months,  fame,  defeat,  and  bitter 
captivity. 

Warner's  announcement  to  Montgomery  is 
as  follows: 

LA  PRAIRIE,  September  27,  1775. 
May  it  please  your  Honor,  I  have  the  disagree 
able  news  to  write  you  that  Colonel  Allen  hath 
met  a  defeat  by  a  stronger  force  which  sallied  out 
of  the  town  of  Montreal  after  he  had  crossed  the 
river  about  a  mile  below  the  town.  I  have  no 
certain  knowledge  as  yet  whether  he  is  killed, 
taken,  or  fled ;  but  his  defeat  hath  put  the  French 
people  into  great  consternation.  They  are  much 
concerned  for  fear  of  a  company  coming  over 
against  us.  Furthermore  the  Indian  chiefs  were 
at  Montreal  at  the  time  of  Allen's  battle,  and 
there  were  a  number  of  Caughnawaga  Indians  in 
the  battle  against  Allen,  and  the  people  are  very 
fearful  of  the  Indians.  There  were  six  in  here 
last  night,  I  suppose  sent  as  spies.  I  asked  the 
Indians  concerning  their  appearing  against  us  in 


Attack  on  Montreal.  109 

every  battle ;  their  answer  to  me  was,  that  Carleton 
made  them  drunk  and  drove  them  to  it ;  but  they 
said  they  would  do  so  no  more.  I  should  think  it 
proper  to  keep  a  party  at  Longueil,  and  my  party 
is  not  big  enough  to  divide.  If  I  must  tarry  here, 
I  should  be  glad  of  my  regiment,  for  my  party  is 
made  up  with  different  companies  in  different 
regiments,  and  my  regulation  is  not  as  good  as  I 
could  wish,  for  subordination  to  your  orders  is  my 
pleasure.  I  am,  sir,  with  submission,  your  hum 
ble  servant,  SETH  WARNER. 
To  General  Montgomery. 

This  moment  arrived  from  Colonel  Allen's  de 
feat,  Captain  Duggan  with  the  following  intel 
ligence:  Colonel  Allen  is  absolutely  taken  cap 
tive  to  Montreal  with  a  few  more,  and  about  two 
or  three  killed,  and  about  as  many  wounded. 
The  living  are  not  all  come  in.  Something  of  a 
slaughter  made  among  the  King's  troops.  From 
yours  to  serve,  SETH  WARNER. 

Schuyler,  Montgomery,  and  Livingston,  in 
letters  written  after  the  defeat,  comment  on 
Allen's  imprudence  in  making  the  attack  sin 
gle-handed,  but  no  mention  is  made  of  Brown, 
with  whose  force  Allen  expected  to  be  re-en 
forced,  and  with  whose  help  the  tide  of  battle 
might  have  been  turned  and  Canada's  future 
might  have  been  entirely  changed. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

ALLEN'S    NARRATIVE. — ATTACK     ON     MONTREAL. — 

DEFEAT        AND        SURRENDER. BRUTAL       TREAT 
MENT. ARRIVAL      IN       ENGLAND. DEBATES       IN 

PARLIAMENT. 

THE  story  of  Allen's  captivity  is  best  told  in 
his  own  vivid  narrative  as  follows : 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th  day  of  September 
I  set  out  with  my  guard  of  about  eighty  men, 
from  Longueuil,  to  go  to  Laprairie,  from  whence 
I  determined  to  go  to  General  Montgomery's 
camp ;  I  had  not  advanced  two  miles  before  I  met 
with  Major  Brown,  who  has  since  been  advanced 
to  the  rank  of  a  colonel,  who  desired  me  to  halt, 
saying  that  he  had  something  of  importance  to 
communicate  to  me  and  my  confidants ;  upon  which 
I  halted  the  party  and  went  into  a  house,  and  took 
a  private  room  with  him  and  several  of  my  asso 
ciates,  where  Colonel  Brown  proposed  that,  pro 
vided  I  would  return  to  Longueuil  and  procure 
some  canoes,  so  as  to  cross  the  river  St.  Lawrence 
a  little  north  of  Montreal,  he  would  cross  it  a  little 
to  the  south  of  the  town,  with  near  two  hundred 
men,  as  he  had  boats  sufficient,  and  that  we  could 


Allen  s  Account  of  the  Surrender.        in 

make  ourselves  masters  of  Montreal.  This  plan 
was  readily  approved  by  me  and  those  in  council, 
and  in  consequence  of  which  I  returned  to  Lon- 
gueuil,  collected  a  few  canoes,  and  added  about 
thirty  English-Americans  to  my  party  and  crossed 
the  river  in  the  night  of  the  24th,  agreeably  to  the 
proposed  plan. 

My  whole  party  at  this  time  consisted  of  about 
one  hundred  and  ten  men,  near  eighty  of  whom 
were  Canadians.  We  were  most  of  the  night 
crossing  the  river,  as  we  had  so  few  canoes  that 
they  had  to  pass  and  repass  three  times  to  carry 
my  party  across.  Soon  after  daybreak,  I  set  a 
guard  between  me  and  the  town,  with  special  or 
ders  to  let  no  person  pass  or  repass  them,  another 
guard  on  the  other  end  of  the  road  with  like  di 
rections;  in  the  mean  time,  I  reconnoitred  the 
best  ground  to  make  a  defence,  expecting  Colonel 
Brown's  party  was  landed  on  the  other  side  of  the 
town,  he  having  the  day  before  agreed  to  give 
three  huzzas  with  his  men  early  in  the  morning, 
which  signal  I  was  to  return,  that  we  might  each 
know  that  both  parties  were  landed ;  but  the  sun 
by  this  time  being  nearly  two  hours  high,  and  the 
sign  failing,  I  began  to  conclude  myself  to  be  in 
a  praemunire,  and  would  have  crossed  the  river 
back  again,  but  I  knew  the  enemy  would  have  dis 
covered  such  an  attempt ;  and  as  there  could  not 
more  than  one-third  part  of  my  troops  cross  at 
a  time,  the  other  two-thirds  would  of  course  fall 
into  their  hands.  This  I  could  not  reconcile  to 


U2  Ethan  Allen. 

my  own  feelings  as  a  man,  much  less  as  an  offi 
cer  ;  I  therefore  concluded  to  maintain  the  ground 
if  possible  and  all  to  fare  alike.  In  consequence 
of  this  resolution,  I  dispatched  two  messengers, 
one  to  Laprairie  to  Colonel  Brown,  and  the  other 
to  L'Assomption,  a  French  settlement,  to  Mr. 
Walker  who  was  in  our  interest,  requesting  their 
speedy  assistance,  giving  them  at  the  same  time 
to  understand  my  critical  situation.  In  the  mean 
time,  sundry  persons  came  to  my  guards  pretend 
ing  to  be  friends,  but  were  by  them  taken  prisoners 
and  brought  to  me.  These  I  ordered  to  confine 
ment  until  their  friendship  could  be  further  con 
firmed;  for  I  was  jealous  they  were  spies,  as  they 
proved  to  be  afterward.  One  of  the  principal  of 
them  making  his  escape,  exposed  the  weakness  of 
my  party,  which  was  the  final  cause  of  my  misfor 
tune;  for  I  have  been  since  informed  that  Mr. 
Walker,  agreeably  to  my  desire,  exerted  himself, 
and  had  raised  a  considerable  number  of  men  for 
my  assistance,  which  brought  him  into  difficulty 
afterward,  but  upon  hearing  of  my  misfortune  he 
disbanded  them  again. 

The  town  of  Montreal  was  in  a  great  tumult. 
General  Carleton  and  the  royal  party  made  every 
preparation  to  go  on  board  their  vessels  of  force, 
as  I  was  afterward  informed,  but  the  spy  escaped 
from  my  guard  to  the  town  occasioned  an  alter 
ation  in  their  policy  and  emboldened  General 
Carleton  to  send  the  force  which  had  there  col 
lected  out  against  me.  I  had  previously  chosen 


Aliens  Account  of  the  Surrender.        113 

my  ground,  but  when  I  saw  the  number  of  the 
enemy  as  they  sallied  out  of  the  town  I  perceived 
it  would  be  a  day  of  trouble,  if  not  of  rebuke ;  but 
I  had  no  chance  to  flee,  as  Montreal  was  situated 
on  an  island  and  the  St.  Lawrence  cut  off  my  com 
munication  to  General  Montgomery's  camp.  I 
encouraged  my  soldiers  to  bravely  defend  them 
selves,  that  we  should  soon  have  help,  and  that 
we  should  be  able  to  keep  the  ground  if  no 
more.  This  and  much  more  I  affirmed  with  the 
greatest  seeming  assurance,  and  which  in  reality 
I  thought  to  be  in  some  degree  probable. 

The  enemy  consisted  of  not  more  than  forty 
regular  troops,  together  with  a  mixed  multitude, 
chiefly  Canadians,  with  a  number  of  English  who 
lived  in  town,  and  some  Indians;  in  all  to  the 
number  of  five  hundred. 

The  reader  will  notice  that  most  of  my  party 
were  Canadians ;  indeed,  it  was  a  motley  parcel  of 
soldiery  which  composed  both  parties.  However, 
the  enemy  began  to  attack  from  wood-piles,  ditches, 
buildings,  and  such  like  places,  at  a  considerable 
distance,  and  I  returned  the  fire  from  a  situation 
more  than  equally  advantageous.  The  attack  be 
gan  between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  just  before  which  I  ordered  a  volunteer  by 
the  name  of  Richard  Young,  with  a  detachment 
of  nine  men  as  a  flank  guard,  which,  under  the 
cover  of  the  bank  of  the  river,  could  not  only  annoy 
the  enemy,  but  at  the  same  time  serve  as  a  flank 
guard  to  the  left  of  the  main  body. 


114  Ethan  Allen. 

The  fire  continued  for  some  time  on  both  sides ; 
and  I  was  confident  that  such  a  remote  method  of 
attack  could  not  carry  the  ground,  provided  it 
should  be  continued  till  night ;  but  near  half  the 
body  of  the  enemy  began  to  flank  round  to  my 
right,  upon  which  I  ordered  a  volunteer  by  the 
name  of  John  Dugan,  who  had  lived  many  years 
in  Canada  and  understood  the  French  language,  to 
detach  about  fifty  Canadians,  and  post  himself  at 
an  advantageous  ditch  which  was  on  my  right, 
to  prevent  my  being  surrounded.  He  advanced 
with  the  detachment,  but  instead  of  occupying 
the  post  made  his  escape,  as  did  likewise  Mr. 
Young  upon  the  left,  with  their  detachments.  I 
soon  perceived  that  the  enemy  was  in  possession 
of  the  ground  which  Dugan  should  have  occupied. 
At  this  time  I  had  but  about  forty-five  men  with 
me,  some  of  whom  were  wounded;  the  enemy 
kept  closing  round  me,  nor  was  it  in  my  power 
to  prevent  it ;  by  which  means  my  situation,  which 
was  advantageous  in  the  first  part  of  the  attack, 
ceased  to  be  so  in  the  last;  and  being  entirely 
surrounded  with  such  vast,  unequal  numbers,  I 
ordered  a  retreat,  but  found  that  those  of  the  en 
emy  who  were  of  the  country,  and  their  Indians, 
could  run  as  fast  as  my  men,  though  the  regulars 
could  not.  Thus  I  retreated  near  a  mile,  and 
some  of  the  enemy  with  the  savages  kept  flanking 
me,  and  others  crowded  hard  in  the  rear.  In  fine, 
I  expected  in  a  very  short  time  to  try  the  world 
of  spirits ;  for  I  was  apprehensive  that  no  quarter 


Aliens  Account  of  the  Surrender.        115 

would  be  given  to  me,  and  therefore  had  deter 
mined  to  sell  my  life  as  dear  as  I  could.  One  of 
the  enemy's  officers  boldly  pressing  in  the  rear, 
discharged  his  fusee  at  me ;  the  ball  whistled  near 
me,  as  did  many  others  that  day.  I  returned  the 
salute  and  missed  him,  as  running  had  put  us  both 
out  of  breath ;  for  I  concluded  we  were  not  fright 
ened.  I  then  saluted  him  with  my  tongue  in  a 
harsh  manner,  and  told  him  that  inasmuch  as  his 
numbers  were  so  far  superior  to  mine,  I  would 
surrender  provided  I  could  be  treated  with  honor 
and  be  assured  of  a  good  quarter  for  myself  and 
the  men  who  were  with  me ;  and  he  answered  I 
should ;  another  officer,  coming  up  directly  after, 
confirmed  the  treaty;  upon  which  I  agreed  to 
surrender  with  my  party,  which  then  consisted  of 
thirty-one  effective  men  and  seven  wounded.  I 
ordered  them  to  ground  their  arms,  which  they  did. 
The  officer  I  capitulated  with  then  directed  me 
and  my  party  to  advance  toward  him,  which  was 
done ;  I  handed  him  my  sword,  and  in  half  a  min 
ute  after  a  savage,  part  of  whose  head  was  shaved, 
being  almost  naked  and  painted,  with  feathers 
intermixed  with  the  hair  of  the  other  side  of  his 
head,  came  running  to  me  with  an  incredible 
swiftness ;  he  seemed  to  advance  with  more  than 
mortal  speed ;  as  he  approached  near  me,  his  hellish 
visage  was  beyond  all  description;  snakes'  eyes 
appear  innocent  in  comparison  to  his;  his  feat 
ures  distorted,  malice,  death,  murder,  and  the 
wrath  of  devils  and  damned  spirits  are  the  em- 


u6  Ethan  Allen. 

blems  of  his  countenance,  and  in  less  than  twelve 
feet  of  me,  presented  his  firelock ;  at  the  instant 
of  his  present,  I  twitched  the  officer  to  whom  I 
gave  my  sword  between  me  and  the  savage ;  but 
he  flew  round  with  great  fury,  trying  to  single 
me  out  to  shoot  me  without  killing  the  officer, 
but  by  this  time  I  was  nearly  as  nimble  as  he, 
keeping  the  officer  in  such  a  position  that  his  dan 
ger  was  my  defence ;  but  in  less  than  half  a  min 
ute,  I  was  attacked  by  just  such  another  imp  of 
hell.  Then  I  made  the  officer  fly  around  with 
incredible  velocity  for  a  few  seconds  of  time,  when 
I  perceived  a  Canadian  who  had  lost  one  eye,  as 
appeared  afterward,  taking  my  part  against  the 
savages ;  and  in  an  instant  an  Irishman  came  to 
my  assistance  with  a  fixed  bayonet,  and  drove  away 

the  fiends,  swearing  by he  would  kill  them. 

This  tragic  scene  composed  my  mind.  The  escap 
ing  from  so  awful  a  death  made  even  imprison 
ment  happy ;  the  more  so  as  my  conquerors  on  the 
field  treated  me  with  great  civility  and  polite 
ness. 

The  regular  officers  said  that  they  were  very 
happy  to  see  Colonel  Allen.  I  answered  them 
that  I  should  rather  choose  to  have  seen  them  at 
General  Montgomery's  camp.  The  gentlemen 
replied  that  they  gave  full  credit  to  what  I  said, 
and  as  I  walked  to  the  town,  which  was,  as  I 
should  guess,  more  than  two  miles,  a  British  offi 
cer  walking  at  my  right  hand  and  one  of  the 
French  noblesse  at  my  left;  the  latter  of  which, 


Allen's  Account  of  the  Surrender.        117 

in  the  action,  had  his  eyebrow  carried  away  by  a 
glancing  shot,  but  was  nevertheless  very  merry 
and  facetious,  and  no  abuse  was  offered  me  till  I 
came  to  the  barrack  yard  at  Montreal,  where  I 
met  General  Prescott,  who  asked  me  my  name, 
which  I  told  him ;  he  then  asked  me  whether  I 
was  that  Colonel  Allen  who  took  Ticonderoga. 
I  told  him  that  I  was  the  very  man ;  then  he  shook 
his  cane  over  my  head,  calling  me  many  hard 
names,  among  which  he  frequently  used  the  word 
rebel,  and  put  himself  in  a  great  rage.  I  told 
him  he  would  do  well  not  to  cane  me,  for  I  was 
not  accustomed  to  it,  and  shook  my  fist  at  him, 
telling  him  that  was  the  beetle  of  mortality  for 
him  if  he  offered  to  strike ;  upon  which  Captain 
M' Cloud  of  the  British,  pulled  him  by  the  skirt 
and  whispered  to  him,  as  he  afterward  told  me,  to 
this  import,  that  it  was  inconsistent  with  his  honor 
to  strike  a  prisoner.  He  then  ordered  a  sergeant's 
command  with  fixed  bayonets  to  come  forward  and 
kill  thirteen  Canadians  who  were  included  in  the 
treaty  aforesaid. 

It  cut  me  to  the  heart  to  see  the  Canadians  in  so 
hard  a  case,  in  consequence  of  their  having  been 
true  to  me;  they  were  wringing  their  hands,  say 
ing  their  prayers,  as  I  concluded,  and  expected 
immediate  death.  I  therefore  stepped  between 
the  executioners  and  the  Canadians,  opened  my 
clothes,  and  told  General  Prescott  to  thrust  his 
bayonet  into  my  breast,  for  I  was  the  sole  cause 
of  the  Canadians  taking  up  arms. 


n8  Ethan  Allen. 

The  guard  in  the  mean  time,  rolling  their  eye 
balls  from  the  General  to  me,  as  though  impa 
tiently  waiting  his  dread  command  to  sheath  their 
bayonets  in  my  heart;  I  could  however,  plainly 
discern,  that  he  was  in  a  suspense  and  quandary 
about  the  matter ;  this  gave  me  additional  hopes 
of  succeeding ;  for  my  design  was  not  to  die,  but 
to  save  the  Canadians  by  a  finesse.  The  general 
stood  a  minute,  when  he  made  the  following  reply : 
"  I  will  not  execute  you  now,  but  you  shall  grace 
a  halter  at  Tyburn,  you." 

I  remember  I  disdained  his  mentioning  such  a 
place ;  I  was,  notwithstanding,  a  little  pleased  with 
the  expression,  as  it  significantly  conveyed  to  me 
the  idea  of  postponing  the  present  appearance  of 
death ;  besides,  his  sentence  was  by  no  means  final 
as  to  "gracing  a  halter,"  although  I  had  anxiety 
about  it  after  I  landed  in  England,  as  the  reader 
will  find  in  the  course  of  this  history.  General 
Prescott  then  ordered  one  of  his  officers  to  take 
me  on  board  the  Gaspee  schooner  of  war  and  con 
fine  me,  hands  and  feet,  in  irons,  which  was  done 
the  same  afternoon  I  was  taken. 

The  action  continued  an  hour  and  three-quar 
ters  by  the  watch,  and  I  know  not  to  this  day  how 
many  of  my  men  were  killed,  though  I  am  certain 
there  were  but  few.  If  I  remember  right,  seven 
were  wounded;  one  of  them,  Wm.  Stewart  by 
name,  was  wounded  by  a  savage  with  a  tomahawk 
after  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  disarmed,  but 
was  rescued  by  some  of  the  generous  enemy,  and 


Aliens  Account  of  the  Surrender.        119 

so  far  recovered  of  his  wounds  that  he  afterward 
went  with  the  other  prisoners  to  England. 

Of  the  enemy,  were  killed  a  Major  Garden,  who 
had  been  wounded  in  eleven  different  battles,  and 
an  eminent  merchant,  Patterson,  of  Montreal,  and 
some  others,  but  I  never  knew  their  whole  loss, 
as  their  accounts  were  different.  I  am  apprehen 
sive  that  it  is  rare  that  so  much  ammunition  was 
expended  and  so  little  execution  done  by  it ;  though 
such  of  my  party  as  stood  the  ground,  behaved 
with  great  fortitude — much  exceeding  that  of  the 
enemy — but  were  not  the  best  of  marksmen,  and, 
I  am  apprehensive,  were  all  killed  or  taken ;  the 
wounded  were  all  put  into  the  hospital  at  Mon 
treal,  and  those  that  were  not  were  put  on  board 
of  different  vessels  in  the  river  and  shackled  to 
gether  by  pairs,  viz. ,  two  men  fastened  together 
by  one  handcuff  being  closely  fixed  to  one  wrist 
of  each  of  them,  and  treated  with  the  greatest  se 
verity,  nay,  as  criminals. 

I  now  come  to  the  description  of  the  irons  which 
were  put  on  me.  The  handcuff  was  of  common 
size  and  form,  but  my  leg  irons  I  should  imagine 
would  weigh  thirty  pounds ;  the  bar  was  eight  feet 
long  and  very  substantial ;  the  shackles  which  en 
compassed  my  ankles  were  very  tight.  I  was  told 
by  the  officer  who  put  them  on  that  it  was  the 
king's  plate,  and  I  heard  other  of  their  officers 
say  that  it  would  weigh  forty  weight.  The  irons 
were  so  close  upon  my  ankles,  that  I  could  not  lay 
down  in  any  other  manner  than  on  my  back.  I 


120  Ethan  Allen. 

was  put  into  the  lowest  and  most  wretched  part 
of  the  vessel,  where  I  got  the  favor  of  a  chest  to 
sit  on ;  the  same  answered  for  my  bed  at  night ; 
and  having  procured  some  little  blocks  of  the 
guard,  who  day  and  night,  with  fixed  bayonets 
watched  over  me,  to  lie  under  each  end  of  the 
large  bar  of  my  leg  irons,  to  preserve  my  ankles 
from  galling  while  I  sat  on  the  chest  or  lay  back 
on  the  same,  though  most  of  the  time,  night  and 
day,  I  sat  on  it ;  but  at  length  having  a  desire  to 
lie  down  on  my  side,  which  the  closeness  of  my 
irons  forbid,  I  desired  the  captain  to  loosen  them 
for  that  purpose,  but  was  denied  the  favor.  The 
captain's  name  was  Royal,  who  did  not  seem  to 
be  an  ill-natured  man,  but  oftentimes  said  that 
his  express  orders  were  to  treat  me  with  such  se 
verity,  which  was  disagreeable  to  his  own  feelings ; 
nor  did  he  ever  insult  me,  though  many  others 
who  came  on  board  did.  One  of  the  officers,  by 
the  name  of  Bradley,  was  very  generous  to  me ; 
he  would  often  send  me  victuals  from  his  own 
table ;  nor  did  a  day  fail,  but  he  sent  me  a  good 
drink  of  grog. 

The  reader  is  now  invited  back  to  the  time  I 
was  put  into  irons.  I  requested  the  privilege  to 
write  to  General  Prescott,  which  was  granted.  I 
reminded  him  of  the  kind  and  generous  manner 
of  my  treatment  of  the  prisoners  I  took  at  Ticon- 
deroga;  the  injustice  and  ungentlemanlike  usage 
I  had  met  with  from  him,  and  demanded  better 
usage,  but  received  no  answer  from  him.  I  soon 


Aliens  Account  of  the  Surrender.        121 

after  wrote  to  General  Carleton,  which  met  the 
same  success.  In  the  mean  while,  many  of  those 
who  were  permitted  to  see  me  were  very  insult 
ing. 

I  was  confined  in  the  manner  I  have  related, 
on  board  the  Gaspee  schooner,  about  six  weeks, 
during  which  time  I  was  obliged  to  throw  out 
plenty  of  extravagant  language,  which  answered 
certain  purposes,  at  that  time,  better  than  to  grace 
a  history. 

To  give  an  instance :  upon  being  insulted,  in  a 
fit  of  anger,  I  twisted  off  a  nail  with  my  teeth, 
which  I  took  to  be  a  ten-penny  nail;  it  went 
through  the  mortise  of  the  band  of  my  handcuff, 
and  at  the  same  time  I  swaggered  over  those  who 
abused  me,  particularly  a  Doctor  Dace,  who  told 
me  that  I  \vas  outlawed  by  New  York,  and  de 
served  death  for  several  years  past;  was  at  last 
fully  ripened  for  the  halter,  and  in  a  fair  way  to 
obtain  it.  When  I  challenged  him,  he  excused 
himself,  in  consequence,  as  he  said,  of  my  being 
a  criminal ;  but  I  flung  such  a  flood  of  language  at 
him  that  it  shocked  him  and  the  spectators,  for 
my  anger  was  very  great.  I  heard  one  say,  "  Him ! 
he  can  eat  iron!  "  After  that,  a  small  padlock  was 
fixed  to  the  handcuff  instead  of  the  nail,  and  as 
they  were  mean-spirited  in  their  treatment  to  me, 
so  it  appeared  to  me  that  they  were  equally  tim 
orous  and  cowardly. 

I  was  after  sent  with  the  prisoners  taken  with 
me  to  an  armed  vessel  in  the  river,  which  lay  off 
9 


122  Ethan  Allen. 

against  Quebec  under  the  command  of  Captain 
M' Cloud  of  the  British,  who  treated  me  in  a  very 
generous  and  obliging  manner,  and  according  to 
my  rank ;  in  about  twenty-four  hours  I  bid  him 
farewell  with  regret,  but  my  good  fortune  still 
continued.  The  name  of  the  captain  of  the  ves 
sel  I  was  put  on  board  was  Littlejohn,  who  with 
his  officers  behaved  in  a  polite,  generous,  and 
friendly  manner.  I  lived  with  them  in  the  cabin 
and  fared  on  the  best,  my  irons  being  taken  off, 
contrary  to  the  order  he  had  received  from  the 
commanding  officer,  but  Captain  Littlejohn  swore 
that  a  brave  man  should  not  be  used  as  a  rascal 
on  board  his  ship. 

That  I  found  myself  in  possession  of  happiness 
once  more,  and  the  evils  I  had  lately  suffered 
gave  me  an  uncommon  relish  for  it. 

Captain  Littlejohn  used  to  go  to  Quebec  almost 
every  day  in  order  to  pay  his  respects  to  certain 
gentlemen  and  ladies;  being  there  on  a  certain 
day,  he  happened  to  meet  with  some  disagreeable 
treatment  as  he  imagined,  from  a  Lieutenant  of  a 
man-of-war  and  one  word  brought  on  another,  un 
til  the  Lieutenant  challenged  him  to  a  duel  on  the 
plains  of  Abraham.  Captain  Littlejohn  was  a 
gentleman,  who  entertained  a  high  sense  of  honor, 
and  could  do  no  less  than  accept  the  challenge. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning  they  were  to 
fight.  The  captain  returned  in  the  evening,  and 
acquainted  his  lieutenant  and  me  with  the  affair. 
His  lieutenant  was  a  high-blooded  Scotchman,  as 


Allen  s  Account  of  the  Surrender.        123 

well  as  himself,  who  replied  to  his  captain  that 
he  should  not  want  for  a  second.  With  this  I  in 
terrupted  him  and  gave  the  captain  to  understand 
that  since  an  opportunity  had  presented,  I  would 
be  glad  to  testify  my  gratitude  to  him  by  acting 
the  part  of  a  faithful  second ;  on  which  he  gave 
me  his  hand,  and  said  that  he  wanted  no  better 
man.  Says  he,  I  am  a  king's  officer,  and  you  a 
prisoner  under  my  care;  you  must  therefore  go 
with  me  to  the  place  appointed  in  disguise,  and 
added  further:  "You  must  engage  me,  upon  the 
honor  of  a  gentleman,  that  whether  I  die  or  live, 
or  whatever  happens,  provided  you  live,  that  you 
will  return  to  my  lieutenant  on  board  this  ship." 
All  this  I  solemnly  engaged  him.  The  comba 
tants  were  to  discharge  each  a  pocket  pistol,  and 
then  to  fall  on  with  their  iron-hilted  muckle 
whangers,  and  one  of  that  sort  was  allotted  for 
me;  but  some  British  officers,  who  interposed 
early  in  the  morning,  settled  the  controversy  with 
out  fighting. 

Now  having  enjoyed  eight  or  nine  days'  happi 
ness  from  the  polite  and  generous  treatment  of 
Captain  Littlejohn  and  his  officers,  I  was  obliged 
to  bid  them  farewell,  parting  with  them  in  as 
friendly  a  manner  as  we  had  lived  together,  which, 
to  the  best  of  my  memory,  was  the  eleventh  of 
November;  when  a  detachment  of  General  Ar 
nold's  little  army  appeared  on  Point  Levi,  oppo 
site  Quebec,  who  had  performed  an  extraordinary 
march  through  a  wilderness  country  with  design 


124  Ethan  Allen. 

to  have  surprised  the  capital  of  Canada;  I  was 
then  taken  on  board  a  vessel  called  the  Adamant, 
together  with  the  prisoners  taken  with  me,  and 
put  under  the  power  of  an  English  merchant  from 
London,  whose  name  was  Brook  Watson ;  a  man 
of  malicious  and  cruel  disposition,  and  who  was 
probably  excited,  in  the  exercise  of  his  malevo 
lence,  by  a  junto  of  tories  who  sailed  with  him 
to  England;  among  whom  were  Colonel  Guy 
Johnson,  Colonel  Closs,  and  their  attendants  and 
associates,  to  the  number  of  about  thirty. 

All  the  ship's  crew,  Colonel  Closs  in  his  per 
sonal  behavior  excepted,  behaved  toward  the  pris 
oners  with  that  spirit  of  bitterness  which  is  the 
peculiar  characteristic  of  tories  when  they  have 
the  friends  of  America  in  their  power,  measuring 
their  loyalty  to  the  English  king  by  the  bar 
barity,  fraud  and  deceit  which  they  exercised  to 
ward  the  whigs. 

A  small  place  in  the  vessel,  inclosed  with  white- 
oak  plank,  was  assigned  for  the  prisoners,  and  for 
me  among  the  rest.  I  should  imagine  that  it  was 
not  more  than  twenty  feet  one  way,  and  twenty- 
two  the  other.  Into  this  place  we  were  all,  to  the 
number  of  thirty-four,  thrust  and  handcuffed,  two 
prisoners  more  being  added  to  our  number,  and 
were  provided  with  two  excrement  tubs ;  in  this 
circumference  we  were  obliged  to  eat  and  perform 
the  offices  of  evacuation  during  the  voyage  to 
England,  and  were  insulted  by  every  blackguard 
sailor  and  tory  on  board,  in  the  cruellest  manner ; 


Allen's  Account  of  the  Surrender.        125 

but  what  is  the  most  surprising  thing  is,  that  not 
one.  of  us  died  in  the  passage.  When  I  was  first 
ordered  to  go  into  the  filthy  inclosure,  through  a 
small  sort  of  door,  I  positively  refused,  and  en 
deavored  to  reason  the  before-named  Brook  Watson 
out  of  a  conduct  so  derogatory  to  every  sentiment 
of  honor  and  humanity,  but  all  to  no  purpose,  my 
men  being  forced  in  the  den  already;  and  the 
rascal  who  had  the  charge  of  the  prisoners  com 
manded  me  to  go  immediately  in  among  the  rest. 
He  further  added,  that  the  place  was  good  enough 
for  a  rebel ;  that  it  was  impertinent  for  a  capital 
offender  to  talk  of  honor  or  humanity ;  that  any 
thing  short  of  a  halter  was  too  good  for  me,  and 
that  would  be  my  portion  soon  after  I  landed  in 
England,  for  which  purpose  only  I  was  sent 
thither.  About  the  same  time  a  lieutenant  among 
the  tories  insulted  me  in  a  grievous  manner,  say 
ing  I  ought  to  have  been  executed  for  my  rebellion 
against  New  York,  and  spit  in  my  face,  upon 
which,  though  I  was  in  handcuffs,  I  sprang  at 
him  with  both  hands  and  knocked  him  partly 
down,  but  he  scrambled  along  into  the  cabin,  and 
I  after  him ;  there  he  got  under  the  protection  of 
§ome  men  with  fixed  bayonets,  who  were  ordered 
to  make  ready  to  drive  me  into  the  place  afore 
mentioned.  I  challenged  him  to  fight,  notwith 
standing  the  impediments  that  were  on  my  hands, 
and  had  the^exalted  pleasure  to  see  the  rascal 
tremble  for  fear*  his  name  I  have  forgot,  but  Wat 
son  ordered  his  guard  to  get  me  into  the  place 


126  Ethan  Allen. 

with  the  other  prisoners,  dead  or  alive ;  and  I  had 
almost  as  lieve  died  as  do  it,  standing  it  out  till 
they  environed  me  round  with  bayonets,  and  brut 
ish,  prejudiced,  abandoned  wretches  they  were, 
from  whom  I  could  expect  nothing  but  wounds  or 
death ;  however,  I  told  them  that  they  were  good 
honest  fellows,  that  I  could  not  blame  them ;  that 
I  was  only  in  dispute  with  a  calico  merchant,  who 
knew  not  how  to  behave  toward  a  gentleman  of 
the  military  establishment.  This  was  spoken 
rather  to  appease  them  for  my  own  preservation, 
as  well  as  to  treat  Watson  with  contempt ;  but  still 
I  found  they  were  determined  to  force  me  into  the 
wretched  circumstances,  which  their  prejudiced 
and  depraved  minds  had  prepared  for  me ;  there 
fore,  rather  than  die  I  submitted  to  their  indigni 
ties,  being  drove  with  bayonets  into  the  filthy 
dungeon  with  the  other  prisoners,  where  we  were 
denied  fresh  water,  except  a  small  allowance, 
which  was  very  inadequate  to  our  wants ;  and  in 
consequence  of  the  stench  of  the  place,  each  of  us 
was  soon  followed  with  a  diarrhoea  and  fever, 
which  occasioned  intolerable  thirst.  When  we 
asked  for  .water,  we  were,  most  commonly,  instead 
of  obtaining  it,  insulted  and  derided ;  and  to  add  to 
all  the  horrors  of  the  place,  it  was  so  dark  that  we 
could  not  see  each  other,  and  were  overspread  with 
body-lice.  We  had,  notwithstanding  these  severi 
ties,  full  allowance  of  salt  provisions,  and  a  gill  of 
rum  per  day ;  the  latter  of  which  was  of  the  utmost 
service  to  us,  and,  probably,  was  the  means  of 


Allen  s  Account  of  the  Surrender.        127 

saving  several  of  our  lives.  About  forty  days  we 
existed  in  this  manner,  when  the  land's  end  of 
England  was  discovered  from  the  mast  head;  soon 
after  which,  the  prisoners  were  taken  from  their 
gloomy  abode,  being  permitted  to  see  the  light  of 
the  sun,  and  breathe  fresh  air,  which  to  us  was 
very  refreshing.  The  day  following  we  landed  at 
Falmouth. 

A  tew  days  before  I  was  taken  prisoner  I  shifted 
my  clothes,  by  which  I  happened  to  be  taken  in 
a  Canadian  dress,  viz.,  a  short  fawn-skin  jacket, 
double  breasted,  an  undervest  and  breeches  of 
sagathy,  worsted  stockings,  a  decent  pair  of  shoes, 
two  plain  shirts,  and  a  red  worsted  cap ;  this  was 
all  the  clothing  I  had,  in  which  I  made  my  ap 
pearance  in  England. 

When  the  prisoners  were  landed,  multitudes  of 
the  citizens  of  Falmouth,  excited  by  curiosity, 
crowded  to  see  us,  which  was  equally  gratifying 
to  us.  I  saw  numbers  on  the  house  tops  and  the 
rising  adjacent  grounds  were  covered  with  them, 
of  botn  sexes.  The  throng  was  so  great,  that  the 
king's  officers  were  obliged  to  draw  their  swords, 
and  force  a  passage  to  Pendennis  castle,  which 
was  near  a  mile  from  the  town,  where  we  were 
closely  confined,  in  consequence  of  orders  from 
General  Carleton,  who  then  commanded  in  Canada. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

LIFE      IN       PENDENNIS       CASTLE. — LORD      NORTH. — ON 

BOARD  THE  "SOLEBAY." ATTENTIONS  RECEIVED 

IN    IRELAND    AND    MADEIRA. 

THE  rascally  Brook  Watson  then  set  out  tor  Lon 
don  in  great  haste,  expecting  the  reward  of  his 
zeal;  but  the  ministry  received  him,  as  I  have 
been  since  informed,  rather  coolly ;  but  the  minor 
ity  in  parliament  took  advantage,  arguing  that 
the  opposition  of  America  to  Great  Britain  was 
not  a  rebellion.  If  it  is,  say  they,  why  do  you  not 
execute  Colonel  Allen  according  to  law?  but  the 
majority  argued  that  I  ought  to  be  executed,  and 
that  the  opposition  was  really  a  rebellion,  but  that 
policy  obliged  them  not  to  do  it,  inasmuch  as  the 
congress  had  then  most  prisoners  in  their  power : 
so  that  my  being  sent  to  England,  for  the  purpose 
of  being  executed,  and  necessity  restraining  them, 
was  rather  a  foil  on  their  laws  and  authority,  and 
they  consequently  disapproved  of  my  being  sent 
thither.  But  I  had  never  heard  the  least  hint  of 
those  debates  in  parliament,  or  of  the  working  of 
their  policy,  until  some  time  after  I  left  England. 

Consequently  the  reader  will  readily  conceive  I 
was  anxious  about  my  preservation,  knowing  that 

128 


Imprison  ment.  129 

I  was  in  the  power  of  a  haughty  and  cruel  nation 
considered  as  such.  Therefore,  the  first  proposition 
which  I  determined  in  my  own  mind  was,  that 
humanity  and  moral  suasion  would  not  be  con 
sulted  in  the  determining  of  my  fate ;  and  those 
that  daily  came  in  great  numbers  out  of  curiosity 
to  see  me,  both  gentle  and  simple,  united  in  this, 
that  I  would  be  hanged.  A  gentleman  from  Amer 
ica,  by  the  name  of  Temple,  and  who  was  friendly 
to  me,  just  whispered  to  me  in  the  ear,  and  told 
me  that  bets  were  laid  in  London,  that  I  would  be 
executed ;  he  likewise  privately  gave  me  a  guinea, 
but  durst  say  but  little  to  me. 

However,  agreeably  to  my  first  negative  prop 
osition,  that  moral  virtue  would  not  influence  my 
destiny,  I  had  recourse  to  stratagem,  which  I  was 
in  hopes  would  move  in  the  circle  of  their  policy. 
I  requested  of  the  commander  of  the  castle,  the 
privilege  of  writing  to  congress,  who,  after  con 
sulting  with  an  officer  that  lived  in  town,  of  a  su 
perior  rank,  permitted  me  to  write.  I  wrote  in 
the  fore  part  of  the  letter,  a  short  narrative  of  my 
ill-treatment;  but  withal  let  them  know  that, 
though  I  was  treated  as  a  criminal  in  England, 
and  continued  in  irons,  together  with  those  taken 
with  me,  yet  it  was,  in  consequence  of  the  orders 
which  the  commander  of  the  castle  received  from 
General  Carleton,  and  therefore  desired  congress 
to  desist  from  matters  of  retaliation,  until  they 
should  know  the  result  of  the  government  in  Eng 
land  respecting  their  treatment  toward  me,  and 


130  Ethan  Allen. 

the  prisoners  with  me,  and  govern  themselves  ac 
cordingly,  with  a  particular  request  that,  if  retali 
ation  should  be  found  necessary,  it  might  be 
exercised  not  according  to  the  smallness  of  my 
character  in  America,  but  in  proportion  to  the  im 
portance  of  the  cause  for  which  I  suffered.  This 
is,  according  to  my  present  recollection,  the  sub 
stance  of  the  letter  inscribed :  "  To  the  illustrious 
Continental  Congress."  This  letter  was  written 
with  the  view  that  it  should  be  sent  to  the  min 
istry  at  London,  rather  than  to  congress,  with  a 
design  to  intimidate  the  haughty  English  govern 
ment,  and  screen  my  neck  from  the  halter. 

The  next  day  the  officer,  from  whom  I  obtained 
license  to  write,  came  to  see  me  and  frowned  on 
me  on  account  of  the  impudence  of  the  letter,  as 
he  phrased  it,  and  further  added,  "  Do  you  think 
that  we  are  fools  in  England,  and  would  send  your 
letter  to  congress,  with  instructions  to  retaliate  on 
our  own  people?  I  have  sent  your  letter  to  Lord 
North. "  This  gave  me  inward  satisfaction,  though 
I  carefully  concealed  it  with  a  pretended  resent 
ment,  for  I  found  that  I  had  come  Yankee  over 
him,  and  that  the  letter  had  gone  to  the  identical 
person  I  designed  it  for.  Nor  do  I  know  to  this 
day,  but  that  it  had  the  desired  effect,  though  I 
have  not  heard  anything  of  the  letter  since. 

My  personal  treatment  by  Lieutenant  Hamilton, 
who  commanded  the  castle,  was  very  generous. 
He  sent  me  every  day  a  fine  breakfast  and  dinner 
from  his  own  table,  and  a  bottle  of  good  wine. 


Imprisonment.  131 

Another  aged  gentleman,  whose  name  I  cannot  rec 
ollect,  sent  me  a  good  supper.  .  But  there  was  no 
distinction  between  me  and  the  privates;  we  all 
lodged  in  a  sort  of  Dutch  bunks,  in  one  common 
apartment,  and  were  allowed  straw.  The  privates 
were  well  supplied  with  provisions,  and  with  me, 
took  effectual  measures  to  rid  themselves  of  lice. 

I  could  not  but  feel,  inwardly,  extremely  anxious 
for  my  fate.  This  I,  however,  concealed  from  the 
prisoners,  as  well  as  from  the  enemy,  who  were 
perpetually  shaking  the  halter  at  me.  I  never 
theless  treated  them  with  scorn  and  contempt ;  and 
having  sent  my  letter  to  the  ministry,  could  con 
ceive  of  nothing  more  in  my  power  but  to  keep  up 
my  spirits,  behave  in  a  daring,  soldier-like  man 
ner,  that  I  might  exhibit  a  good  sample  of  Amer 
ican  fortitude.  Such  a  conduct,  I  judged,  would 
have  a  more  probable  tendency  to  my  preservation 
than  concession  and  timidity.  This,  therefore, 
was  my  deportment:  and  I  had  lastly  determined 
in  my  mind,  that  if  a  cruel  death  must  inevitably 
be  my  portion,  I  would  face  it  undaunted;  and 
though  I  greatly  rejoice  that  I  returned  to  my 
country  and  friends,  and  to  see  the  power  and 
pride  of  Great  Britain  humbled,  yet  I  am  confi 
dent  I  could  then  have  died  without  the  least  ap 
pearance  of  dismay. 

I  now  clearly  recollect  that  my  mind  was  so  re 
solved  that  I  would  not  have  trembled  or  shown 
the  least  fear,  as  I  was  sensible  that  it  could  not 
alter  my  fate,  nor  do  more  than  reproach  my 


132  Ethan  Allen. 

memory,  make  my  last  act  despicable  to  my 
enemies,  and  eclipse  the  other  actions  of  my  life. 
For  I  reasoned  thus,  that  nothing  was  more  com 
mon  than  for  men  to  die  with  their  friends  around 
them,  weeping  and  lamenting  over  them,  but  not 
able  to  help  them,  which  was  in  reality  not  differ 
ent  in  the  consequence  of  it  from  such  a  death  as 
I  was  apprehensive  of ;  and  as  death  was  the  nat 
ural  consequence  of  animal  life  to  which  the  laws 
of  nature  subject  mankind,  to  be  timorous  and  un 
easy  as  to  the  event  and  manner  of  it  was  incon 
sistent  with  the  character  of  a  philosopher  and 
soldier.  The  cause  I  was  engaged  in  I  ever  viewed 
worthy  hazarding  my  life  for,  nor  was  I,  in  the 
most  critical  moments  of  trouble,  sorry  that  I  en 
gaged  in  it ;  and  as  to  the  world  of  spirits,  though 
I  knew  nothing  of  the  mode  or  manner  of  it,  I  ex 
pected  nevertheless,  when  I  should  arrive  at  such 
a  world,  that  I  should  be  as  well  treated  as  other 
gentlemen  of  my  merit. 

Among  the  great  numbers  of  people  who  came 
to  the  castle  to  see  the  prisoners,  some  gentlemen 
told  me  that  they  had  come  fifty  miles  on  purpose 
to  see  me,  and  desired  to  ask  me  a  number  of 
questions,  and  to  make  free  with  me  in  conver 
sation.  I  gave  for  answer  that  I  chose  freedom  in 
every  sense  of  the  word.  Then  one  of  them  asked 
me  what  my  occupation  in  life  had  been.  I  an 
swered  him,  that  in  my  younger  days  I  had  studied 
divinity  but  was  a  conjuror  by  profession.  He 
replied  that  I  conjured  wrong  at  the  time  I  was 


Imprison  ment.  133 

taken ;  and  I  was  obliged  to  own  that  I  mistook  a 
figure  at  that  time,  but  that  I  had  conjured  them 
out  of  Ticonderoga.  This  was  a  place  of  great 
notoriety  in  England,  so  that  the  joke  seemed  to 
go  in  my  favor. 

It  was  a  common  thing  for  me  to  be  taken  out 
of  close  confinement,  into  a  spacious  green  in  the 
castle,  or  rather  parade,  where  numbers  of  gentle 
men  and  ladies  were  ready  to  see  and  hear  me.  I 
often  entertained  such  audiences  with  harangues 
on  the  impracticability  of  Great  Britain's  conquer 
ing  the  colonies  of  America.  At  one  of  these 
times  I  asked  a  gentleman  for  a  bowl  of  punch, 
and  he  ordered  his  servant  to  bring  it,  which  he 
did,  and  offered  it  to  me,  but  I  refused  to  take  it 
from  the  hand  of  his  servant;  he  then  gave  it  to 
me  with  his  own  hand,  refusing  to  drink  with  me 
in  consequence  of  my  being  a  state  criminal. 
However,  I  took  the  punch  and  drank  it  all  down 
at  one  draught,  and  handed  the  gentleman  the 
bowl ;  this  made  the  spectators  as  well  as  myself 
merry. 

I  expatiated  on  American  freedom.  This 
gained  the  resentment  of  a  young  beardless  gentle 
man  of  the  company,  who  gave  himself  very  great 
airs,  and  replied  that  he  knew  the  Americans  very 
well,  and  was  certain  thy  could  not  bear  the  smell 
of  powder.  I  replied  that  I  accepted  it  as  a  chal 
lenge,  and  was  ready  to  convince  him  on  the  spot 
that  an  American  could  bear  the  smell  of  powder; 
at  which  he  answered  that  he  should  not  put  him- 


134  Ethan  Allen. 

self  on  a  par  with  me.  I  then  demanded  him  to 
treat  the  character  of  the  Americans  with  due  re 
spect.  He  answered  that  I  was  an  Irishman ;  but 
I  assured  him  that  I  was  a  full-blooded  Yankee, 
and  in  fine  bantered  him  so  much,  that  he  left  me 
in  possession  of  the  ground,  and  the  laugh  went 
against  him.  Two  clergymen  came  to  see  me, 
and  inasmuch  as  they  behaved  with  civility,  I  re 
turned  them  the  same.  We  discoursed  on  several 
parts  of  moral  philosophy  and  Christianity;  and 
they  seemed  to  be  surprised  that  I  should  be  ac 
quainted  with  such  topics,  or  that  I  should  under 
stand  a  syllogism  or  regular  mode  of  argumen 
tation.  I  am  apprehensive  my  Canadian  dress 
contributed  not  a  little  to  the  surprise  and  excite 
ment  of  curiosity:  to  see  a  gentleman  in  England 
regularly  dressed  and  well  behaved  would  be  no 
sight  at  all ;  but  such  a  rebel  as  they  were  pleased 
to  call  me,  it  is  probable,  was  never  before  seen 
in  England. 

The  prisoners  were  landed  at  Falmouth  a  few 
days  before  Christmas,  and  ordered  on  board  of 
the  Solebay  frigate,  Captain  Symonds,  on  the  eighth 
day  of  January,  1776,  when  our  hand  irons  were 
taken  off.  This  remove  was  in  consequence,  as  I 
have  been  since  informed,  of  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  which  had  been  procured  by  some  gentle 
men  in  England,  in  order  to  obtain  me  my  liberty. 

The  Solebay,  with  sundry  other  men-of-war  and 
about  forty  transports,  rendezvoused  at  the  cove  of 
Cork,  in  Ireland,  to  take  in  provisions  and  water. 


Imprisonment.  135 

When  we  were  first  brought  on  board,  Captain 
Symonds  ordered  all  the  prisoners  and  most  of 
the  hands  on  board  to  go  on  the  deck,  and  caused 
to  be  read  in  their  hearing  a  certain  code  of  laws 
or  rules  for  the  regulation  and  ordering  of  their 
behavior ;  and  then  in  a  sovereign  manner,  ordered 
the  prisoners,  me  in  particular,  off  the  deck  and 
never  to  come  on  it  again :  for,  said  he,  this  is  a 
place  for  gentlemen  to  walk.  So  I  went  off,  an 
officer  following  me,  who  told  me  he  would  show 
me  the  place  allotted  to  me,  and  took  me  down  to 
the  cabin  tier,  saying  to  me  this  is  your  place. 

Prior  to  this  I  had  taken  cold,  by  which  I  was  in 
an  ill  state  of  health,  and  did  not  say  much  to  the 
officer;  but  stayed  there  that  night,  consulted  my 
policy,  and  I  found  I  was  in  an  evil  case :  that  a 
captain  of  a  man-of-war  was  more  arbitrary  than 
a  king,  as  he  could  view  his  territory  with  a  look 
of  his  eye,  and  a  movement  of  his  finger  com 
manded  obedience.  I  felt  myself  more  despond 
ing  than  I  had  done  at  any  time  before ;  for  I  con 
cluded  it  to  be  a  government  scheme,  to  do  that 
clandestinely  which  policy  forbid  to  be  done  under 
sanction  of  any  public  justice  and  law. 

However,  two  days  after,  I  shaved  and  cleansed 
myself  as  well  as  I  could,  and  went  on  deck.  The 
captain  spoke  to  me  in  a  great  rage,  and  said: 
"Did  I  not  order  you  not  to  come  on  deck?"  I 
answered  him,  that  at  the  same  time  he  said, 
"  that  it  was  the  place  for  gentlemen  to  walk ;  that 
I  was  Colonel  Allen,  but  had  not  been  properly 


136  Ethan  Allen. 

introduced  to  him."  He  replied,  " you, 

sir,  be  careful  not  to  walk  the  same  side  of  the  deck 
that  I  do. "  This  gave  me  encouragement,  and  ever 
after  that  I  walked  in  the  manner  he  had  directed, 
except  when  he,  at  certain  times  afterward,  had 
ordered  me  off  in  a  passion,  and  I  then  would  di 
rectly  afterward  go  on  again,  telling  him  to  com 
mand  his  slaves;  that  I  was  a  gentleman  and  had 
a  right  to  walk  the  deck;  yet  when  he  expressly 
ordered  me  off  I  obeyed,  not  out  of  obedience  to 
him,  but  to  set  an  example  to  the  ship's  crew,  who 
ought  to  obey  him. 

To  walk  to  the  windward  side  of  the  deck  is,  ac 
cording  to  custom,  the  prerogative  of  the  captain 
of  the  man-of-war,  though  he,  sometimes,  nay 
commonly,  walks  with  his  lieutenants,  when  no 
strangers  are  by.  When  a  captain  from  some 
other  man-of-war  comes  on  board,  the  captains 
walk  to  the  windward  side,  and  the  other  gentle 
men  to  the  leeward. 

It  was  but  a  few  nights  I  lodged  in  the  cabin 
tier  before  I  gained  an  acquaintance  with  the 
master  of  arms;  his  name  was  Gillegan,  an  Irish 
man,  who  was  a  generous  and  well-disposed  man, 
and  in  a  friendly  manner  made  me  an  offer  of  liv 
ing  with  him  in  a  little  berth,  which  was  allotted 
him  between  decks,  and  inclosed  in  canvas;  his 
preferment  on  board  was  about  equal  to  that  of  a 
sergeant  in  a  regiment.  I  was  comparatively 
happy  in  the  acceptance  of  his  clemency,  and  lived 
with  him  in  friendship  till  the  frigate  anchored  in 


Imprisonment.  137 

the  harbor  of  Cape  Fear,  North  Carolina,  in  Amer 
ica. 

Nothing  of  material  consequence  happened  till 
the  fleet  rendezvoused  at  the  cove  of  Cork,  except 
a  violent  storm  which  brought  old  hardy  sailors 
to  their  prayers.  It  was  soon  rumored  in  Cork 
that  I  was  on  board  the  Solebay,  with  a  number 
of  prisoners  from  America,  upon  which  Messrs. 
Clark  &  Hays,  merchants  in  company,  and  a  num 
ber  of  other  benevolently  disposed  gentlemen, 
contributed  largely  to  the  relief  and  support  of 
the  prisoners,  who  were  thirty-four  in  number,  and 
in  very  needy  circumstances.  A  suit  of  clothes 
from  head  to  foot,  including  an  overcoat  or  sur- 
tout,  and  two  shirts  were  bestowed  upon  each  of 
-them.  My  suit  I  received  in  superfine  broad 
cloth,  sufficient  for  two  jackets  and  two  pairs  of 
breeches,  overplus  of  a  suit  throughout,  eight  fine 
Holland  shirts  and  socks  ready  made,  with  a  num 
ber  of  pairs  of  silk  and  worsted  hose,  two  pairs  of 
shoes,  two  beaver  hats,  one  of  which  was  sent  me, 
richly  laced  with  gold,  by  James  Bonwell.  The 
Irish  gentlemen  furthermore  made  a  large  gratuity 
of  wines  of  the  best  sort,  spirits,  gin,  loaf  and 
brown  sugar,  tea  and  chocolate,  with  a  large  round 
of  pickled  beef,  and  a  number  of  fat  turkies,  with 
many  other  articles,  for  my  sea  stores,  too  tedious 
to  mention  here.  To  the  privates  they  bestowed 
on  each  man  two  pounds  of  tea  and  six  pounds  of 
brown  sugar.  These  articles  were  received  on 
board  at  a  time  when  the  captain  and  first  lieuten- 

10 


138  Ethan  Allen. 

ant  were  gone  on  shore,  by  the  permission  of  the 
second  lieutenant,  a  handsome  young-  gentleman, 
who  was  then  under  twenty-one  years  of  age ;  his 
name  was  Douglass,  son  of  Admiral  Douglass,  as  I 
was  informed. 

As  this  munificence  was  so  unexpected  and 
plentiful,  I  may  add  needful,  it  impressed  on  my 
mind  the  highest  sense  of  gratitude  toward  my 
benefactors ;  for  I  was  not  only  supplied  with  the 
necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life,  but  with  the 
grandeurs  and  superfluities  of  it.  Mr.  Hays,  one 
of  the  donators  before-mentioned,  came  on  board 
and  behaved  in  the  most  obliging  manner,  telling 
me  that  he  hoped  my  troubles  were  past,  for  that 
the  gentlemen  of  Cork  determined  to  make  my  sea 
stores  equal  to  that  of  the  captain  of  the  Solebay  j 
he  made  an  offer  of  live-stock  and  wherewith  to 
support  them ;  but  I  knew  this  would  be  denied. 
And  to  crown  all,  did  send  me  by  another  person 
fifty  guineas,  but  I  could  not  reconcile  receiving 
the  whole  to  my  own  feelings,  as  it  might  have 
the  appearance  of  avarice,  and  therefore  received 
but  seven  guineas  only,  and  am  confident,  not  only 
from  the  exercises  of  the  present  well-timed  gen 
erosity,  but  from  a  large  acquaintance  with 
gentlemen  of  this  nation,  that  as  a  people  they  ex 
cel  in  liberality  and  bravery. 

Two  days  after  the  receipt  of  the  aforesaid  do 
nations,  Captain  Symonds  came  on  board  full  of 
envy  toward  the  prisoners,  and  swore  by  all  that 
is  good  that  the  damned  American  rebels  should 


Imprison  ment .  139 

not  be  feasted  at  this  rate  by  the  damned  rebels 
of  Ireland;  he  therefore  took  away  all  my  liquors 
before-mentioned,  except  some  of  the  wine  which 
was  secreted,  and  a  two-gallon  jug  of  old  spirits 
which  was  reserved  for  me  per  favor  of  Lieutenant 
Douglass.  The  taking  of  my  liquors  was  abom 
inable  in  his  sight.  He  therefore  spoke  in  my 
behalf,  till  the  captain  was  angry  with  him,  and 
in  consequence  proceeded  and  took  away  all  the 
tea  and  sugar  which  had  been  given  to  the  pris 
oners,  and  confiscated  it  to  the  use  of  the  ship's 
crew.  Our  clothing  was  not  taken  away,  but  the 
privates  were  forced  to  do  duty  on  board.  Soon 
after  this  there  came  a  boat  to  the  side  of  the  ship 
and  Captain  Symonds  asked  a  gentleman  in  it,  in 
my  hearing,  what  his  business  was,  who  answered 
that  he  was  sent  to  deliver  some  sea  stores  to  Col 
onel  Allen,  which,  if  I  remember  right,  he  said 
were  sent  from  Dublin ;  but  the  captain  damned 
him  heartily,  ordering  him  away  from  the  ship,  and 
would  not  suffer  him  to  deliver  the  stores.  I  was 
furthermore  informed  that  the  gentlemen  in  Cork 
requested  of  Captain  Symonds  that  I  might  be 
allowed  to  come  into  the  city,  and  that  they  would 
be  responsible  I  should  return  to  the  frigate  at  a 
given  time,  which  was  denied  them. 

We  sailed  from  England  on  the  8th  day  of  Jan 
uary,  and  from  the  cove  of  Cork  on  the  1 2th  day 
of  February.  Just  before  we  sailed,  the  prison 
ers  with  me  were  divided  and  put  on  board  three 
different  ships  of  war.  This  gave  me  some  un- 


140  Ethan  Allen. 

easiness,  for  they  were  to  a  man  zealous  in  the 
cause  of  liberty,  and  behaved  with  a  becoming 
fortitude  in  the  various  scenes  of  their  captivity ; 
but  those  who  were  distributed  on  board  other 
ships  of  war  were  much  better  used  than  those 
who  tarried  with  me,  as  appeared  afterward. 
When  the  fleet,  consisting  of  about  forty-five  sail, 
including  five  men-of-war,  sailed  from  the  cove 
with  a  fresh  breeze,  the  appearance  was  beautiful, 
abstracted  from  the  unjust  and  bloody  designs  they 
had  in  view.  We  had  not  sailed  many  days  be 
fore  a  mighty  storm  arose,  which  lasted  near 
twenty-four  hours  without  intermission.  The 
wind  blew  with  relentless  fury,  and  no  man  could 
remain  on  deck,  except  he  was  lashed  fast,  for  the 
waves  rolled  over  the  deck  by  turns,  with  a  forci 
ble  rapidity,  and  every  soul  on  board  was  anx 
ious  for  the  preservation  of  the  ship,  alias  their 
lives.  In  this  storm  the  Thunder -bomb  man-of-war 
sprang  aleak,  and  was  afterward  floated  to  some 
part  of  the  coast  of  England,  and  the  crew  saved. 
We  were  then  said  to  be  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 
After  the  storm  abated,  I  could  plainly  discern  the 
prisoners  were  better  used  for  some  considerable 
time. 

Nothing  of  consequence  happened  after  this, 
till  we  sailed  to  the  island  of  Madeira,  except  a 
certain  favor  I  had  received  of  Captain  Symonds, 
in  consequence  of  an  application  I  made  to  him 
for  the  privilege  of  his  tailor  to  make  me  a  suit  of 
clothes  of  the  cloth  bestowed  on  me  in  Ireland, 


Imprisonment.  1 4 1 

which  he  generously  granted.  I  could  then  walk 
the  deck  with  a  seeming  better  grace.  When  we 
had  reached  Madeira  and  anchored,  sundry  gen 
tlemen  with  the  captain  went  on  shore,  who,  I 
conclude,  gave  the  rumor  that  I  was  in  the  frigate, 
upon  which  I  soon  found  that  Irish  generosity  was 
again  excited ;  for  a  gentleman  of  that  nation  sent 
his  clerk  on  board  to  know  of  me  if  I  could  ac 
cept  a  sea  store  from  him,  particularly  wine.  This 
matter  I  made  known  to  the  generous  Lieutenant 
Douglass,  who  readily  granted  me  the  favor,  pro 
vided  the  articles  could  be  brought  on  board  dur 
ing  the  time  of  his  command ;  adding  that  it  would 
be  a  pleasure  to  him  to  serve  me,  notwithstanding 
the  opposition  he  met  with  before.  So  I  directed 
the  gentleman's  clerk  to  inform  him  that  I  was 
greatly  in  need  of  so  signal  a  charity,  and  desired 
the  young  gentleman  to  make  the  utmost  dispatch, 
which  he  did;  but  in  the  mean  time  Captain  Sy- 
monds  and  his  officers  came  on  board,  and  im 
mediately  made  ready  for  sailing;  the  wind  at  the 
same  time  being  fair,  set  sail  when  the  young 
gentleman  was  in  fair  sight  with  the  aforesaid 
store. 

The  reader  will  doubtless  recollect  the  seven 
guineas  I  received  at  the  cove  of  Cork.  These 
enabled  me  to  purchase  of  the  purser  what  I 
wanted,  had  not  the  captain  strictly  forbidden  it, 
though  I  made  sundry  applications  to  him  for  that 
purpose ;  but  his  answer  to  me,  when  I  was  sick, 
was,  that  it  was  no  matter  how  soon  I  was  dead, 


142  Ethan  Allen. 

and  that  he  was  no  ways  anxious  to  preserve  the 
lives  of  rebels,  but  wished  them  all  dead ;  and  in 
deed  that  was  the  language  of  most  of  the  ship's 
crew.  I  expostulated  not  only  with  the  captain,  but 
with  other  gentlemen  on  board,  on  the  unreason 
ableness  of  such  usage;  inferring  that  inasmuch 
as  the  government  in  England  did  not  proceed 
against  me  as  a  capital  offender,  they  should  not ; 
for  that  they  were  by  no  means  empowered  by 
any  authority,  either  civil  or  military,  to  do  so; 
for  the  English  government  had  acquitted  me  by 
sending  me  back  a  prisoner  of  war  to  America, 
and  that  they  should  treat  me  as  such.  I  further 
drew  an  inference  of  impolicy  on  them,  provided 
they  should  by  hard  usage  destroy  my  life ;  inas 
much  as  I  might,  if  living,  redeem  one  of  their 
officers;  but  the  captain  replied  that  he  needed 
no  directions  of  mine  how  to  treat  a  rebel ;  that 
the  British  would  conquer  the  American  rebels, 
hang  the  Congress  and  such  as  promoted  the  re 
bellion,  me  in  particular,  and  retake  their  own  pris 
oners  ;  so  that  my  life  was  of  no  consequence  in 
the  scale  of  their  policy.  I  gave  him  for  answer 
that  if  they  stayed  till  they  conquered  America 
before  they  hanged  me,  I  should  die  of  old  age, 
and  desired  that  till  such  an  event  took  place,  he 
would  at  least  allow  me  to  purchase  of  the  purser, 
for  my  own  money,  such  articles  as  I  greatly 
needed ;  but  he  would  not  permit  it,  and  when  I 
reminded  him  of  the  generous  and  civil  usage  that 
their  prisoners  in  captivity  in  America  met  with, 


Imprisonment.  143 

he  said  that  it  was  not  owing  to  their  goodness, 
but  to  their  timidity ;  for,  said  he,  they  expect  to 
be  conquered,  and  therefore  dare  not  misuse  our 
prisoners ;  and  in  fact  this  was  the  language  of  the 
British  officers  till  Burgoyne  was  taken;  happy 
event !  and  not  only  of  the  officers  but  the  whole 
British  army.  I  appeal  to  all  my  brother  pris 
oners  who  have  been  with  the  British  in  the 
southern  department  for  a  confirmation  of  what  I 
have  advanced  on  this  subject.  The  surgeon  of 
the  Solebay,  whose  name  was  North,  was  a  very 
humane,  obliging  man,  and  took  the  best  care  of 
the  prisoners  who  were  sick, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

RENDEZVOUS     AT     CAPE     FEAR. SICKNESS. HALIFAX 

JAIL. LETTER     TO     GENERAL    MASSEY. VOYAGE 

TO    NEW    YORK. ON    PAROLE. 

THE  third  day  of  May  we  cast  anchor  in  the  har 
bor  of  Cape  Fear,  in  North  Carolina,  as  did  Sir 
Peter  Parker's  ship,  of  fifty  guns,  a  little  back  of 
the  bar ;  for  there  was  not  depth  of  water  for  him 
to  come  into  the  harbor.  These  two  men-of-war, 
and  fourteen  sail  of  transports  and  others,  came 
after,  so  that  most  of  the  fleet  rendezvoused  at 
Cape  Fear  for  three  weeks.  The  soldiers  on 
board  the  transports  were  sickly,  in  consequence 
of  so  long  a  passage ;  add  to  this  the  small-pox 
carried  off  many  of  them.  They  landed  on  the 
main,  and  formed  a  camp ;  but  the  riflemen  an 
noyed  them,  and  caused  them  to  move  to  an  island 
in  the  harbor;  but  such  cursing  of  riflemen  I 
never  heard. 

A  detachment  of  regulars  was  sent  up  Bruns 
wick  River ;  as  they  landed  they  were  fired  on  by 
those  marksmen,  and  they  came  back  next  day 
damning  the  rebels  for  their  unmanly  way  of 
fighting,  and  swearing  they  would  give  no  quarter, 
for  they  took  sight  at  them,  and  were  behind  tim- 

M4 


Imprisonment.  145 

ber,  skulking  about.  One  of  the  detachments  said 
they  lost  one  man;  but  a  negro  man  who  was  with 
them,  and  heard  what  was  said,  soon  after  told  me 
that  he  helped  to  bury  thirty-one  of  them ;  this 
did  me  some  good  to  find  my  countrymen  giving 
them  battle ;  for  I  never  heard  such  swaggering 
as  among  General  Clinton's  little  army,  who  com 
manded  at  that  time ;  and  I  am  apt  to  think  there 
were  four  thousand  men,  though  not  two-thirds  of 
them  fit  for  duty.  I  heard  numbers  of  them  say 
that  the  trees  in  America  should  hang  well  with 
fruit  that  campaign,  for  they  would  give  no  quar 
ter.  This  was  in  the  mouths  of  most  who  I  heard 
speak  on  the  subject,  officer  as  well  as  soldier.  I 
wished  at  that  time  my  countrymen  knew,  as 
well  as  I  did,  what  a  murdering  and  cruel  enemy 
they  had  to  deal  with ;  but  experience  has  since 
taught  this  country  what  they  are  to  expect  at  the 
hands  of  Britons  when  in  their  power. 

The  prisoners  who  had  been  sent  on  board  dif 
ferent  men-of-war  at  the  cove  of  Cork  were  col 
lected  together,  and  the  whole  of  them  put  on 
board  the  Mercury  frigate,  Captain  James  Monta 
gue,  except  one  of  the  Canadians,  who  died  on  the 
passage  from  Ireland,  and  Peter  Noble,  who  made 
his  escape  from  the  Sphynx  man-of-war  in  this 
harbor,  and,  by  extraordinary  swimming,  got  safe 
home  to  New  England  and  gave  intelligence  of 
the  usage  of  his  brother  prisoners.  The  Mercury 
set  sail  from  this  port  for  Halifax  about  the  2oth 
of  May,  and  Sir  Peter  Parker  was  about  to  sail 


146  Ethan   Allen. 

with  the  land  forces,  tinder  the  command  of  General 
Clinton,  for  the  reduction  of  Charleston, 'the  cap 
ital  of  South  Carolina,  and  when  I  heard  of  his 
defeat  in  Halifax,  it  gave  me  inexpressible  satis 
faction. 

I  now  found  myself  under  a  worse  captain  than 
Symonds;  for  Montague  was  loaded  with  prej 
udices  against  everybody  and  everything  that 
was  not  stamped  with  royalty;  and  being  by  na 
ture  underwitted,  his  wrath  was  heavier  than  the 
others,  or  at  least  his  mind  was  in  no  instance 
liable  to  be  diverted  by  good  sense,  humor  or 
bravery,  of  which  Symonds  was  by  turns  suscepti 
ble.  A  Captain  Francis  Proctor  was  added  to  our 
number  of  prisoners  when  we  were  first  put  on 
board  this  ship.  This  gentleman  had  formerly 
belonged  to  the  English  service.  The  captain, 
and  in  fine,  all  the  gentlemen  of  the  ship  were 
very  much  incensed  against  him,  and  put  him  in 
irons  without  the  least  provocation,  and  he  was  con 
tinued  in  this  miserable  situation  about  three 
months.  In  this  passage  the  prisoners  were  in 
fected  with  the  scurvy,  some  more  and  some  less, 
but  most  of  them  severely.  The  ship's  crew  was 
to  a  great  degree  troubled  with  it,  and  I  con 
cluded  it  was  catching.  Several  of  the  crew  died 
with  it  on  their  passage.  I  was  weak  and  feeble 
in  consequence  of  so  long  and  cruel  a  captivity, 
yet  had  but  little  of  the  scurvy. 

The  purser  was  again  expressly  forbid  by  the 
captain  to  let  me  have  anything  out  of  his  store ; 


Imprisonment.  147 

upon  which  I  went  upon  deck,  and  in  the  hand 
somest  manner  requested  the  favor  of  purchasing 
a  few  necessaries  of  the  purser,  which  was  denied 
me ;  he  further  told  me,  that  I  should  be  hanged 
as  soon  as  I  arrived  at  Halifax.  I  tried  to  reason 
the  matter  with  him,  but  found  him  proof  against 
reason ;  I  also  held  up  his  honor  to  view,  and  his 
behavior  to  me  and  the  prisoners  in  general,  as 
being  derogatory  to  it,  but  found  his  honor  im 
penetrable.  I  then  endeavored  to  touch  his  hu 
manity,  but  found  he  had  none ;  for  his  preposses 
sion  of  bigotry  to  his  own  party  had  confirmed 
him  in  an  opinion  that  no  humanity  was  due  to 
unroyalists,  but  seemed  to  think  that  heaven  and 
earth  were  made  merely  to  gratify  the  king  and 
his  creatures ;  he  uttered  considerable  unintelligi 
ble  and  grovelling  ideas,  a  little  tinctured  with 
monarchy  but  stood  well  to  his  text  of  hanging 
me.  He  afterward  forbade  his  surgeon  to  admin 
ister  any  help  to  the  sick  prisoners.  I  was  every 
night  shut  down  in  the  cable  tier  with  the  rest  of 
the  prisoners,  and  we  all  lived  miserably  while 
under  his  power.  But  I  received  some  generosity 
from  several  of  the  midshipmen  who  in  degree 
alleviated  my  misery;  one  of  their  names  was 
Putrass ;  the  names  of  the  others  I  do  not  recollect ; 
but  they  were  obliged  to  be  private  in  the  be- 
stowment  of  their  favor,  which  was  sometimes 
good  wine  bitters  and  at  others  a  generous  drink 
of  grog. 

Some  time  in  the  first  week  of  June,  we  came  to 


148  Ethan   Allen. 

anchor  at  the  Hook  of  New  York,  where  we  re 
mained  but  three  days ;  in  which  time  Governor 
Tryon,  Mr.  Kemp,  the  old  attorney-general  of 
New  York,  and  several  other  perfidious  and  over 
grown  tories  and  land-jobbers,  came  on  board. 
Tryon  viewed  me  with  a  stern  countenance,  as  I 
was  walking  on  the  leeward  side  of  the  deck  with 
the  midshipmen ;  and  he  and  his  companions  were 
walking  with  the  captain  and  lieutenant  on  the 
windward  side  of  the  same,  but  never  spoke  to  me, 
though  it  is  altogether  probable  that  he  thought 
of  the  old  quarrel  between  him,  the  old  govern 
ment  of  New  York,  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 
Then  they  went  with  the  captain  into  the  cabin, 
and  the  same  afternoon  returned  on  board  a  vessel, 
where  at  that  time  they  took  sanctuary  from  the 
resentment  of  their  injured  country.  What  passed 
between  the  officers  of  the  ship  and  these  visitors 
I  know  not ;  but  this  I  know,  that  my  treatment 
from  the  officers  was  more  severe  afterward. 

We  arrived  at  Halifax  not  far  from  the  middle 
of  June,  where  the  ship's  crew,  which  was  infested 
with  the  scurvy,  were  taken  on  shore  and  shallow 
trenches  dug,  into  which  they  were  put,  and  partly 
covered  with  earth.  Indeed,  every  proper  measure 
was  taken  for  their  relief.  The  prisoners  were  not 
permitted  any  sort  of  medicine,  but  were  put  on 
board  a  sloop  which  lay  in  the  harbor,  near  the 
town  of  Halifax,  surrounded  by  several  men-of- 
war  and  their  tenders,  and  a  guard  constantly  set 
over  them,  night  and  day.  The  sloop  we  had 


Imprisonment.  149 

wholly  to  ourselves,  except  the  guard  who  occupied 
the  forecastle ;  here  we  were  cruelly  pinched  with 
hunger;  it  seemed  tome  that  we  had  not  more 
than  one-third  of  the  common  allowance.  We 
were  all  seized  with  violent  hunger  and  faintness; 
we  divided  our  scanty  allowance  as  exact  as  possi 
ble.  I  shared  the  same  fate  with  the  rest,  and 
though  they  offered  me  more  than  an  even  share, 
I  refused  to  accept  it,  as  it  was  a  time  of  sub 
stantial  distress,  which  in  my  opinion  I  ought  to 
partake  equally  with  the  rest,  and  set  an  example 
of  virtue  and  fortitude  to  our  little  commonwealth. 
I  sent  letter  after  letter  to  Captain  Montague, 
who  still  had  the  care  of  us,  and  also  to  his  lieu 
tenant,  whose  name  I  cannot  call  to  mind,  but 
could  obtain  no  answer,  much  less  a  redress  of 
grievances ;  and  to  add  to  the  calamity,  nearly  a 
dozen  of  the  prisoners  were  dangerously  ill  of  the 
scurvy.  I  wrote  private  letters  to  the  doctors,  to 
procure,  if  possible,  some  remedy  for  the  sick,  but 
in  vain.  The  chief  physician  came  by  in  a  boat, 
so  close  that  the  oars  touched  the  sloop  that  we 
were  in,  and  I  uttered  my  complaint  in  the  gen- 
teelest  manner  to  him,  but  he  never  so  much  as 
turned  his  head,  or  made  me  any  answer,  though 
I  continued  speaking  till  he  got  out  of  hearing. 
Our  cause  then  became  deplorable.  Still  I  kept 
writing  to  the  captain,  till  he  ordered  the  guards, 
as  they  told  me,  not  to  bring  any  more  letters 
from  me  to  him.  In  the  mean  time  an  event  hap 
pened  worth  relating.  One  of  the  men,  almost 


150  Ethan  Allen. 

dead  with  the  scurvy,  lay  by  the  side  of  the  sloop, 
and  a  canoe  of  Indians  coming  by,  he  purchased 
two  quarts  of  strawberries,  and  ate  them  at  once, 
and  it  almost  cured  him.  The  money  he  gave  for 
them  was  all  the  money  he  had  in  the  world. 
After  that  we  tried  every  way  to  procure  more  of 
that  fruit,  reasoning  from  analogy  that  they  might 
have  the  same  effect  on  others  infested  with  the 
same  disease,  but  could  obtain  none. 

Meanwhile  the  doctor's  mate  of  the  Mercury 
came  privately  on  board  the  prison  sloop  and  pre 
sented  me  with  a  large  vial  of  smart  drops,  which 
proved  to  be  good  for  the  scurvy,  though  vegeta 
bles  and  some  other  ingredients  were  requisite  for 
a  cure :  but  the  drops  gave  at  least  a  check  to  the 
disease.  This  was  a  well-timed  exertion  of  hu 
manity,  but  the  doctor's  name  has  slipped  my 
mind,  and  in  my  opinion,  it  was  the  means  of  sav 
ing  the  lives  of  several  men. 

The  guard  which  was  set  over  us  was  by  this 
time  touched  with  feelings  of  compassion ;  and  I 
finally  trusted  one  of  them  with  a  letter  of  com 
plaint  to  Governor  Arbuthnot,  of  Halifax,  which 
he  found  means  to  communicate,  and  which  had 
the  desired  effect ;  for  the  governor  sent  an  officer 
and  surgeon  on  board  the  prison  sloop  to  know 
the  truth  of  the  complaint.  The  officer's  name 
was  Russell ;  he  held  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  and 
treated  me  in  a  friendly  and  polite  manner,  and 
was  really  angry  at  the  cruel  and  unmanly  usage 
the  prisoners  met  with;  and  with  the  surgeon 


Imprisonment.  1 5 1 

made  a  true  report  of  matters  to  Governor  Arbuth- 
not,  who,  either  by  his  order  or  influence,  took  us 
next  day  from  the  prison  sloop  to  Halifax  jail, 
where  I  first  became  acquainted  with  the  now 
Hon.  James  Lovel,  one  of  the  members  of  Con 
gress  for  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  The  sick 
were  taken  to  the  hospital,  and  the  Canadians, 
who  were  effective,  were  employed  in  the  king's 
works ;  and  when  their  countrymen  were  recovered 
from  the  scurvy  and  joined  them,  they  all  deserted 
the  king's  employ,  and  were  not  heard  of  at  Hali 
fax  as  long  as  the  remainder  of  the  prisoners  con 
tinued  there,  which  was  till  near  the  middle  of 
October.  We  were  on  board  the  prison  sloop 
about  six  weeks,  and  were  landed  at  Halifax  near 
the  middle  of  August.  Several  of  our  English- 
American  prisoners,  who  were  cured  of  the  scurvy 
at  the  hospital,  made  their  escape  from  thence, 
and  after  a  long  time  reached  their  old  habitations. 
I  had  now  but  thirteen  with  me  of  those  who 
were  taken  in  Canada,  and  remained  in  jail  with 
me  at  Halifax,  who,  in  addition  to  those  that  were 
imprisoned  before,  made  our  number  about  thirty- 
four,  who  were  all  locked  up  in  one  common  large 
room,  without  regard  to  rank,  education,  or  any 
other  accomplishment,  where  we  continued  from 
the  setting  to  the  rising  sun ;  and  as  sundry  of 
them  were  infected  with  the  jail  and  other  dis 
tempers,  the  furniture  of  this  spacious  room  con 
sisted  principally  of  excrement  tubs.  We  peti 
tioned  for  a  removal  of  the  sick  into  the  hospitals, 


152  Ethan   Allen. 

but  were  denied.  We  remonstrated  against  the 
ungenerous  usage  of  being  confined  with  the  pri 
vates,  as  being  contrary  to  the  laws  and  customs 
of  nations,  and  particularly  ungrateful  in  them  in 
consequence  of  the  gentleman-like  usage  which 
the  British  imprisoned  officers  met  with  in  Amer 
ica  ;  and  thus  we  wearied  ourselves,  petitioning 
and  remonstrating,  but  to  no  purpose  at  all ;  for 
General  Massey,  who  commanded  at  Halifax,  was 
as  inflexible  as  the  devil  himself,  a  fine  prepara 
tive  this  for  Mr.  Lovel,  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress. 

Lieutenant  Russell,  whom  I  have  mentioned 
before,  came  to  visit  me  in  prison,  and  assured 
me  that  he  had  done  his  utmost  to  procure  my 
parole  for  enlargement ;  at  which  a  British  cap 
tain,  who  was  then  town-major,  expressed  com 
passion  for  the  gentlemen  confined  in  the  filthy 
place,  and  assured  me  that  he  had  used  his  influ 
ence  to  procure  their  enlargement ;  his  name  was 
near  like  Ramsey.  Among  the  prisoners  there 
were  four  in  number  who  had  a  legal  claim  to  a 
parole,  a  Mr.  Rowland,  master  of  a  continental 
armed  vessel,  a  Mr.  Taylor,  his  mate,  and  myself. 

As  to  the  article  of  provision,  we  were  well 
served,  much  better  than  in  any  part  of  my  captiv 
ity;  and  since  it  was  Mr.  Lovel's  misfortune  and 
mine  to  be  prisoners,  and  in  so  wretched  circum 
stances,  I  was  happy  that  we  were  together  as  a 
mutual  support  to  each  other  and  to  the  unfort 
unate  prisoners  with  us.  Our  first  attention  was 


Imprisonment.  153 

the  preservation  of  ourselves  and  injured  little  re 
public;  the  rest  of  our  time  we  devoted  inter 
changeably  to  politics  and  philosophy,  as  patience 
was  a  needful  exercise  in  so  evil  a  situation,  but 
contentment  mean  and  impracticable. 

I  had  not  been  in  this  jail  many  days,  before  a 
worthy  and  charitable  woman,  by  the  name  of 
Mrs.  Blacden,  supplied  me  with  a  good  dinner  of 
fresh  meats  every  day,  with  garden  fruit,  and 
sometimes  with  a  bottle  of  wine ;  notwithstanding 
which  I  had  not  been  more  than  three  weeks  in 
this  place  before  I  lost  my  appetite  to  the  most 
delicious  food  by  the  jail  distemper,  as  also  did 
sundry  of  the  prisoners,  particularly  Sergeant 
Moore,  a  man  of  courage  and  fidelity.  I  have 
several  times  seen  him  hold  the  boatswain  of  the 
Solebay  frigate,  when  he  attempted  to  strike  him, 
and  laughed  him  out  of  conceit  of  using  him  as  a 
slave. 

A  doctor  visited  the  sick,  and  did  the  best,  as  I 
suppose,  he  could  for  them,  to  no  apparent  purpose. 
I  grew  weaker  and  weaker,  as  did  the  rest. 
Several  of  them  could  not  help  themselves.  At 
last  I  reasoned  in  my  own  mind  that  raw  onion 
would  be  good.  I  made  use  of  it,  and  found  im 
mediate  relief  by  it,  as  did  the  sick  in  general, 
particularly  Sergeant  Moore,  whom  it  recovered 
almost  from  the  shades;  though  I  had  met  with  a 
little  revival,  still  I  found  the  malignant  hand  of 
Britain  had  greatly  reduced  my  constitution  with 
stroke  upon  stroke.  Esquire  Lovel  and  myself 
ii 


154  Ethan  Allen. 

used  every  argument  and  entreaty  that  could  be 
well  conceived  of  in  order  to  obtain  gentleman 
like  usage,  to  no  purpose.  I  then  wrote  General 
Massey  as  severe  a  letter  as  I  possibly  could  with 
my  friend  Lovel's  assistance.  The  contents  of  it 
was  to  give  the  British,  as  a  nation,  and  him  as 
an  individual,  their  true  character.  This  roused 
the  rascal,  for  he  could  not  bear  to  see  his  and  the 
nation's  deformity  in  that  transparent  letter,  which 
I  sent  him ;  he  therefore  put  himself  in  a  great 
rage  about  it,  and  showed  the  letter  to  a  number 
of  British  officers,  particularly  to  Captain  Smith 
of  the  Lark  frigate,  who  instead  of  joining  with 
him  in  disapprobation  commended  the  spirit  of 
it;  upon  which  General  Massey  said  to  him,  do 
you  take  the  part  of  a  rebel  against  me?  Captain 
Smith  answered  that  he  rather  spoke  his  senti 
ments  and  there  was  a  dissension  in  opinion  be 
tween  them.  Some  officers  took  the  part  of  the 
general  and  others  of  the  captain.  This  I  was  in 
formed  of  by  a  gentleman  who  had  it  from  Captain 
Smith. 

In  a  few  days  after  this,  the  prisoners  were  or 
dered  to  go  on  board  of  a  man-of-war,  which  was 
bound  for  New  York ;  but  two  of  them  were  not 
able  to  go  on  board,  and  were  left  at  Halifax ;  one 
died;  and  the  other  recovered.  This  was  about 
the  1 2th  of  October,  and  soon  after  we  had  got  on 
board,  the  captain  sent  for  me  in  particular  to 
come  on  the  quarter  deck.  I  went,  not  knowing 
that  it  was  Captain  Smith  or  his  ship  at  that  time, 


Imprisonment.  155 

and  expected  to  meet  the  same  rigorous  usage  I 
had  commonly  met  with  and  prepared  my  mind 
accordingly;  but  when  I  came  on  deck,  the  captain 
met  me  with  his  hand,  welcomed  me  to  his  ship, 
invited  me  to  dine  with  him  that  day,  and  assured 
me  that  I  should  be  treated  as  a  gentleman,  and 
that  he  had  given  orders  that  I  should  be  treated 
with  respect  by  the  ship's  crew.  This  was  so  un 
expected  and  sudden  a  transition  that  it  drew  tears 
from  my  eyes  which  all  the  ill  usage  I  had  before 
met  with  was  not  able  to  produce,  nor  could  I  at 
first  hardly  speak,  but  soon  recovered  myself  and 
expressed  my  gratitude  for  so  unexpected  a  favor ; 
and  let  him  know  that  I  felt  anxiety  of  mind  in 
reflecting  that  his  situation  and  mine  was  such 
that  it  was  not  probable  that  it  would  ever  be  in 
my  power  to  return  the  favor.  Captain  Smith  re 
plied  that  he  had  no  reward  in  view,  but  only 
treated  me  as  a  gentleman  ought  to  be  treated; 
he  said  this  is  a  mutable  world,  and  one  gentle 
man  never  knows  but  it  may  be  in  his  power  to 
help  another.  Soon  after  I  found  this  to  be  the 
same  Captain  Smith  who  took  my  part  against 
General  Massey ;  but  he  never  mentioned  anything 
of  it  to  me,  and  I  thought  it  impolite  in  me  to  in 
terrogate  him  as  to  any  disputes  which  might 
have  arisen  between  him  and  the  general  on  my 
account,  as  I  was  a  prisoner,  and  that  it  was  at 
his  option  to  make  free  with  me  on  that  subject  if 
he  pleased ;  and  if  he  did  not,  I  might  take  it  for 
granted  that  it  would  be  unpleasing  for  me  to 


156  Ethan   Allen. 

query  about  it,  though  I  had  a  strong  propensity 
to  converse  with  him  on  that  subject. 

I  dined  with  the  captain  agreeable  to  his  invita 
tion,  and  oftentimes  with  the  lieutenant,  in  the 
gun-room,  but  in  general  ate  and  drank  with  my 
friend  Lovel  and  the  other  gentlemen  who  were 
prisoners  with  me,  where  I  also  slept. 

We  had  a  little  berth  inclosed  with  canvas,  be 
tween  decks,  where  we  enjoyed  ourselves  very 
well,  in  hopes  of  an  exchange ;  besides,  our  friends 
at  Halifax  had  a  little  notice  of  our  departure  and 
supplied  us  with  spirituous  liquor,  and  many  arti 
cles  of  provisions  for  the  cost.  Captain  Burk, 
having  been  taken  prisoner,  was  added  to  our 
company  (he  had  commanded  an  American  armed 
vessel)  and  was  generously  treated  by  the  captain 
and  all  the  officers  of  the  ship,  as  well  as  myself. 
We  now  had  in  all  near  thirty  prisoners  on  board, 
and  as  we  were  sailing  along  the  coast,  if  I  recol 
lect  right,  off  Rhode  Island,  Captain  Burk,  with 
an  under-officer  of  the  ship,  whose  name  I  do  not 
recollect,  came  to  our  little  berth,  proposed  to  kill 
Captain  Smith  and  the  principal  officers  of  the 
frigate  and  take  it ;  adding  that  there  were  thirty- 
five  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  the  same.  Cap 
tain  Burk  likewise  averred  that  a  strong  party  out 
of  the  ship's  crew  was  in  the  conspiracy,  and  urged 
me,  and  the  gentleman  that  was  with  me,  to  use 
our  influence  with  the  private  prisoners  to  execute 
the  design,  and  take  the  ship  with  the  cash  into 
one  of  our  own  ports. 


Imprisonment.  157 

Upon  which  I  replied  that  we  had  been  too 
well  used  on  board  to  murder  the  officers ;  that  I 
could  by  no  means  reconcile  it  to  my  conscience, 
and  that,  in  fact,  it  should  not  be  done ;  and  while 
I  was  yet  speaking  my  friend  Lovel  confirmed 
what  I  had  said,  and  farther  pointed  out  the  un 
gratefulness  of  such  an  act ;  that  it  did  not  fall  short 
of  murder,  and  in  fine  all  the  gentlemen  in  the 
berth  opposed  Captain  Burk  and  his  colleague. 
But  they  strenuously  urged  that  the  conspiracy 
would  be  found  out,  and  that  it  would  cost  them 
their  lives,  provided  they  did  not  execute  their 
design.  I  then  interposed  spiritedly  and  put  an 
end  to  further  argument  on  the  subject,  and  told 
them  that  they  might  depend  upon  it  upon  my 
honor  that  I  would  faithfully  guard  Captain 
Smith's  life.  If  they  should  attempt  the  assault  I 
would  assist  him,  for  they  desired  me  to  remain 
neuter,  and  that  the  same  honor  that  guarded 
Captain  Smith's  life  would  also  guard  theirs;  and 
it  was  agreed  by  those  present  not  to  reveal  the 
conspiracy,  to  the  intent  that  no  man  should  be 
put  to  death,  in  consequence  of  what  had  been 
projected;  and  Captain  Burk,  and  his  colleague 
went  to  stifle  the  matter  among  their  associates. 
I  could  not  help  calling  to  mind  what  Captain 
Smith  said  to  me,  when  I  first  came  on  board: 
"This  is  a  mutable  world,  and  one  gentleman 
never  knows  but  that  it  may  be  in  his  power  to 
help  another. "  Captain  Smith  and  his  officers  still 
behaved  with  their  usual  courtesy,  and  I  never 
heard  any  more  of  the  conspiracy. 


158  Ethan  Allen. 

We  arrived  before  New  York,  and  cast  anchor 
the  latter  part  of  October,  where  we  remained 
several  days,  and  where  Captain  Smith  informed 
me  that  he  had  recommended  me  to  Admiral 
Howe  and  General  Sir  William  Howe,  as  a  gentle 
man  of  honor  and  veracity,  and  desired  that  I  might 
be  treated  as  such.  Captain  Burk  was  then  or 
dered  on  board  a  prison  ship  in  the  harbor.  I 
took  my  leave  of  Captain  Smith  and,  with  the  other 
prisoners,  was  sent  on  board  a  transport  ship 
which  lay  in  the  harbor,  commanded  by  Captain 
Craige,  who  took  me  into  the  cabin  with  him  and 
his  lieutenant.  I  fared  as  they  did,  and  was  in 
every  respect  well  treated,  in  consequence  of  di 
rections  from  Captain  Smith.  In  a  few  weeks 
after  this  I  had  the  happiness  to  part  with  my 
friend  Lovel,  for  his  sake,  whom  the  enemy  af 
fected  to  treat  as  a  private ;  he  was  a  gentleman 
of  merit,  and  liberally  educated,  but  had  no  com 
mission;  they  maligned  him  on  account  of  his  un 
shaken  attachment  to  the  cause  of  his  country. 
He  was  exchanged  for  a  Governor  Philip  Skene 
of  the  British.  I  was  continued  in  this  ship  till 
the  latter  part  of  November,  where  I  contracted 
an  acquaintance  with  a  captain  of  the  British;  his 
name  has  slipped  my  memory.  He  was  what  we 
may  call  a  genteel,  hearty  fellow.  I  remember 
an  expression  of  his  over  a  bottle  of  wine,  to  this 
import :  "  That  there  is  a  greatness  of  soul  for  per 
sonal  friendship  to  subsist  between  you  and  me, 
as  we  are  upon  opposite  sides,  and  may  at  another 


Imprison  ment .  159 

day  be  obliged  to  face  each  other  in  the  field. "  I 
am  confident  that  he  was  as  faithful  as  any  officer 
in  the  British  army.  At  another  sitting  he  offered 
to  bet  a  dozen  of  wine  that  Fort  Washington 
would  be  in  the  hands  of  the  British  in  three  days. 
I  stood  the  bet,  and  would,  had  I  known  that  that 
would  have  been  the  case ;  and  the  third  day  after 
ward  we  heard  a  heavy  cannonade,  and  that  day 
the  fort  was  taken  sure  enough.  Some  months 
after,  when  I  was  on  parole,  he  called  upon  me 
with  his  usual  humor,  and  mentioned  the  bet.  I 
acknowledged  that  I  had  lost  it,  but  he  said  he 
did  not  mean  to  take  it,  then,  as  I  was  a  prisoner; 
that  he  would  another  day  call  upon  me,  when 
their  army  came  to  Bennington.  I  replied  that  he 
was  quite  too  generous,  as  I  had  fairly  lost  it ;  be 
sides,  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  would  not  suffer 
them  to  come  to  Bennington.  This  was  all  in  good 
humor.  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have  seen 
him  after  the  defeat  at  Bennington,  but  did  not. 
It  was  customary  for  a  guard  to  attend  the  pris 
oners,  which  was  often  changed.  One  was  com 
posed  of  tories  from  Connecticut,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Fairfield  and  Green  Farms.  The  sergeant's 
name  was  Hoit.  They  were  very  full  of  their  in 
vectives  against  the  country,  swaggered  of  their 
loyalty  to  their  king,  and  exclaimed  bitterly 
against  the  "cowardly  Yankees,"  as  they  were 
pleased  to  term  them,  but  finally  contented  them 
selves  with  saying  that  when  the  country  was 
overcome  they  should  be  well  rewarded  for  their 


160  Ethan   Allen. 

loyalty  out  of  the  estates  of  the  whigs,  which 
would  be  confiscated.  This  I  found  to  be  the 
general  language  of  the  tories,  after  I  arrived 
from  England  on  the  American  coast.  I  heard 
sundry  of  them  relate,  that  the  British  generals 
had  engaged  them  an  ample  reward  for  their 
losses,  disappointments  and  expenditures,  out  of 
the  forfeited  rebels'  estates.  This  language  early 
taught  me  what  to  do  with  tories'  estates,  as  far  as 
my  influence  can  go.  For  it  is  really  a  game  of 
hazard  between  whig  and  tory.  The  whigs  must 
inevitably  have  lost  all,  in  consequence  of  the 
abilities  of  the  tories,  and  their  good  friends  the 
British ;  and  it  is  no  more  than  right  the  tories 
should  run  the  same  risk,  in  consequence  of  the 
abilities  of  the  whigs.  But  of  this  more  will  be 
observed  in  the  sequel  of  this  narrative. 

Some  of  the  last  days  of  November  the  prisoners 
were  landed  at  New  York,  and  I  was  admitted  to 
parole  with  the  other  officers,  viz. :  Proctor,  How- 
land,  and  Taylor.  The  privates  were  put  into 
filthy  churches  in  New  York,  with  the  distressed 
prisoners  that  were  taken  at  Fort  Washington; 
and  the  second  night,  Sergeant  Roger  Moore,  who 
was  bold  and  enterprising,  found  means  to  make 
his  escape  with  every  one  of  the  remaining  pris 
oners  that  were  taken  with  him,  except  three,  -who 
were  soon  after  exchanged.  So  that  out  of  thirty- 
one  prisoners,  who  went  with  me  the  round  ex 
hibited  in  these  sheets,  two  only  died  with  the 
enemy,  and  three  only  were  exchanged ;  one  of 


Imprisonment.  161 

whom  died  after  he  came  within  our  lines;  all 
the  rest,  at  different  times,  made  their  escape 
from  the  enemy, 

I  now  found  myself  on  parole,  and  restricted  to 
the  limits  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where  I  soon 
projected  means  to  live  in  some  measure  agreeably 
to  my  rank,  though  I  was  destitute  of  cash.  My 
constitution  was  almost  worn  out  by  such  a  long 
and  barbarous  captivity.  The  enemy  gave  out 
that  I  was  crazy,  and  wholly  unmanned,  but  my 
vitals  held  sound,  nor  was  I  delirious  any  more 
than  I  had  been  from  youth  up;  but  my  extreme 
circumstances,  at  certain  times,  rendered  it  politic 
to  act  in  some  measure  the  madman ;  and  in  con 
sequence  of  a  regular  diet  and  exercise,  my  blood 
recruited,  and  my  nerves  in  a  great  measure  re 
covered  their  former  tone,  strength  and  useful 
ness,  in  the  course  of  six  months. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

RELEASE    FROM  PRISON. WITH  WASHINGTON    AT    VAL 
LEY  FORGE. THE  HALDIMAND  CORRESPONDENCE. 

ALLEN'S  narrative  in  the  preceding  chap 
ter  gives  a  picture  of  himself,  of  the  times, 
and  of  the  treatment  of  prisoners  by  the  most 
civilized  nation  on  earth.  In  January,  1777, 
with  other  American  officers,  he  was  quartered 
on  Long  Island.  In  August  he  was  sent  to 
the  provost  jail  in  New  York.  May  3,  1778, 
he  was  exchanged  for  Col.  Alexander  Camp 
bell.  Thus  he  was  treated  as  a  colonel,  al 
though  he  had  no  fixed  official  rank  or  title 
beyond  that  informally  bestowed  on  him  by 
Montgomery.  He  was  entertained  with  gen 
tlemanly  courtesy  for  two  days  at  General 
Campbell's  headquarters  on  Staten  Island,  and 
then  crossed  New  Jersey  amid  the  acclama 
tions  of  the  people. 

For  several  days  he  was  the  guest  of  Wash 
ington  at  Valley  Forge.  Here,  eighteen  miles 

northwest  of  Philadelphia,  where  the  British 

162 


Release  from  Prison.  163 

army  was  revelling  in  luxury,  Washington, 
with  three  thousand  men  suffering  from  cold 
and  hunger,  was  praying  to  God  for  guidance 
in  so  sore  a  strait.  Baron  Steuben  was  there 
fresh  from  the  service  of  Frederic  the  Great, 
disciplining  the  raw  recruits  into  veteran  sol 
diers  never  again  to  know  defeat.  There  were 
Gates,  attending  a  court-martial,  and  Putnam 
and  Lafayette.  These  were  among  Allen's 
red-letter  days;  courteously  entertained  by 
some  of  the  best  soldiers  of  Europe  and  Amer 
ica,  and  the  favored  guest  of  Washington, 
could  Heaven  reward  him  better  for  his  long 
imprisonment?  Here  he  writes  a  letter  to 
Congress  which  Washington  forwards  in 
closed  with  his  own.  Allen  began  the  journey 
to  his  Vermont  home  in  company  with  Gates, 
arriving  in  Fishkill  on  May  18,  and  in  Ben- 
nington  just  four  weeks  after  his  release  from 
prison. 

We  now  come  to  a  chapter  in  Allen's  life 
which  the  biographer  must  enter  upon  with  a 
mind  free  from  prejudice,  and  with  a  strong 
desire  to  assimilate  the  feelings  of  the  age 
when  our  little  commonwealth  was  in  process 
of  formation.  About  the  close  of  the  year 
1776,  Allen  being  a  prisoner  on  parole  in 


164  Ethan   Allen. 

New  York,  a  British  officer  of  rank  sent  for 
him  to  come  to  his  lodgings.  He  told  him 
that  his  fidelity,  although  in  a  wrong  cause, 
had  recommended  him  to  General  Sir  William 
Howe,  who  wished  to  make  him  the  colonel  of 
a  regiment  of  tories.  He  proposed  that  Allen 
in  a  few  days  should  go  to  England,  be  paid 
in  gold  instead  of  continental  rag  money,  be 
introduced  to  Lord  George  Germaine  and 
probably  to  the  king,  return  to  America  with 
Burgoyne,  assist  in  reducing  the  country,  and 
receive  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Vermont  or 
Connecticut  as  he  preferred.  Allen  replied: 
"  If  by  fidelity  I  have  recommended  myself  to 
General  Howe,  I  shall  be  loath  by  unfaithful 
ness  to  lose  the  general's  good  opinion;  be 
sides,  I  view  the  offer  of  land  to  be  similar  to 
that  which  the  devil  offered  our  Saviour,  'to 
give  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  to  fall 
down  and  worship  him, '  when  the  poor  devil 
had  not  one  foot  of  land  on  earth." 

Mr.  B.  F.  Stevens,  an  American  resident  of 
London,  and  an  indefatigable  collector  of  doc 
uments  relating  to  early  American  history 
gathered  from  the  British  archives,  furnishes 
a  letter  written  by  Alexander  C.  Wedderburn, 
solicitor-general,  on  the  morning  of  December 


Release  from  Prison.  165 

27>  I775>  to  William  Eden,  under- secretary 
of  state.  On  the  same  day  at  noon  a  cabinet 
meeting  was  to  be  held  at  which  was  to  be 
considered  the  disposition  to  be  made  of  Ethan 
Allen  and  other  prisoners  who  had  reached 
England  five  days  before.  The  "Lord  S." 
referred  to  is  Lord  Suffolk,  secretary  of  state, 
and  the  "  Attorney"  is  Lord  Edward  Therlow, 
attorney-general : 

DEAR  EDEN  : — I  shall  certainly  attend  Lord  S. 
at  12  o'clock.  My  idea  of  the  Business  does  not 
differ  much  from  the  Attorn ey's.  My  thoughts 
have  been  employed  upon  it  ever  since  I  saw  you, 
and  I  am  persuaded  some  unlucky  incident  must 
arise  if  Allen  and  his  People  are  kept  here.  It 
must  be  understood  that  Government  does  not 
mean  to  execute  them,  the  Prosecution  will  be  re 
miss  and  the  Disposition  of  some  People  to  thwart 
it  very  active.  I  would  therefore  send  them  back, 
but  I  think  something  more  might  be  done  than 
merely  to  return  them  as  Prisoners  to  America. 
Allen,  by  Kay's  [William  Kay,  secret  service  agent 
at  Montreal]  account,  took  up  arms  because  he 
was  dispossessed  of  Lands  he  had  settled  between 
Hampshire  and  New  York,  in  consequence  of  an 
order  of  Council  settling  the  boundary  of  these  two 
provinces,  and  had  balanced  for  some  time  wheth 
er  to  have  recourse  to  ye  Rebels  or  to  Mr.  Carle- 
ton  [governor-general  of  the  Province  of  Quebec]. 


1 66  Ethan   Allen. 

The  doubt  of  being  well  received  by  the  latter  de 
termined  him  to  join  the  former,  and  Kay  adds 
that  he  is  a  bold,  active  fellow.  I  would  then 
send  to  him  a  Person  of  Confidence  with  this  Pro 
posal  :  that  his  case  had  been  favorably  represented 
to  Government;  that  the  injury  he  had  suffered 
was  some  Alleviation  for  his  crime,  and  that  it 
arose  from  an  Abuse  of  an  order  of  Council  which 
was  never  meant  to  dispossess  the  Settlers  in  the 
Lands  in  debate  between  ye  two  provinces.  If  he 
has  a  mind  to  return  to  his  duty  He  may  not  only 
have  his  pardon  from  Gen.  Howe  but  a  Company 
of  Rangers,  and  in  the  event  if  He  behaves  well 
His  lands  restored  on  these  terms,  he  and  his  men 
shall  be  sent  back  to  Boston  at  liberty ;  if  he  does 
not  accept  them  he  and  they  must  be  disposed  of 
as  the  Law  directs.  If  he  should  behave  well  it 
is  an  Acquisition.  If  not  there  is  still  an  Advan 
tage  in  finding  a  decent  reason  for  not  immediately 
proceeding  against  him  as  a  Rebel.  Some  of  the 
People  who  came  over  in  the  Ship  with  him,  or 
perhaps  Kay  himself,  might  easily  settle  this  bar 
gain  if  it  is  set  about  directly. 

Yours  ever,  A.  C.  W. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Burlington  Free 
Press,  January  7,  1887,  adds  this  comment: 

That  it  was  agreed  to  in  the  cabinet  appears 
in  the  fact  that  on  the  very  27th  December,  1775, 
Lord  George  Germaine  of  the  admiralty  ordered 
that  Allen  and  his  associates  be  returned  to  General 


Release  from  Prison.  167 

Howe  in  Boston.  Howe  evacuated  Boston  March 
1 6,  1776,  went  to  Halifax,  and  thence  to  New 
York.  Allen  followed  him  round  and  was  ulti 
mately  a  prisoner  on  parole  until  the  6th  of  May, 
1778,  when  he  was  exchanged  for  Col.  Archibald 
Campbell.  While  he  was  on  parole  the  "  Person 
of  Confidence"  was  found  to  make  the  proposal 
suggested  by  Wedderburn,  and  Allen  mentions 
this  in  the  narrative  of  his  captivity. 

Who  was  the  British  officer  of  high  rank 
whom  Howe  employed  to  buy  up  Allen  we  do 
not  know,  but  the  American  whom  Clinton 
employed  we  do  know:  Beverly  Robinson,  a 
Virginian,  made  wealthy  by  marriage  with 
Susanna  Phillipse,  sister  of  Mary  Phillipse,  for 
whom  Washington  had  an  attachment.  He 
was  the  son  of  a  lieutenant-governor,  and  an 
early  associate  of  Washington.  In  1780  oc 
curred  this  third  attempt  to  buy  Allen.  Rob 
inson  was  the  man  selected  to  make  the  prop 
osition.  Ethan  Allen  was  the  man  selected 
to  be  bribed:  not  Governor  Chittenden;  not 
the  soldiers  Roger  Enos  or  Seth  Warner;  not 
the  diplomat,  the  treasurer,  the  financier  of  the 
State,  Ira  Allen ;  not  the  young  lawyers  Na 
thaniel  Chipman  or  S.  R.  Bradley ;  but  the  man 
who  had  been  tempted  in  England  and  tempted 


i68  Ethan   Allen. 

in  New  York,  the  man  whose  loyalty  had  not 
been  shaken  by  the  endurance  of  British  bru 
tality  for  two  and  one-half  years.  The 
time  to  hope  for  success  would  seem  to  have 
been  December,  1775,  on  English  soil,  when 
he  had  reasonable  grounds  to  fear  being  hung 
for  treason,  or  in  New  York,  in  1777,  when 
Washington  had  been  driven  out  of  Long  Isl 
and,  out  of  New  York  City,  and  chased  across 
New  Jersey.  This  time  chosen  was  in  1780, 
when  Congress  had  alienated  Vermont  by  ig 
noring  her  claims  to  federation,  and  had  treated 
her  with  such  contempt  that  there  was  almost 
no  hope  of  her  joining  the  United  States. 

Long  Island  knew  of  Ethan's  temptation  be 
fore  he  did.  The  air  was  full  of  it.  The  con 
tents  of  Robinson's  letter  were  known  to  the 
tories  before  Allen  received  it.  The  letter 
written  in  February  was  delivered  in  July. 
Washington  heard  in  July  that  Allen  was  in 
New  York  selling  himself  to  the  British. 
Schuyler  had  spies  everywhere.  They  re 
ported  Allen  in  Canada.  General  James  Clin 
ton  suspected  Allen.  The  correspondence  and 
flag  for  cartel  smelt  of  treason.  Washington 
had  tried  to  effect  an  exchange  of  prisoners 
and  failed.  His  letter  to  Haldimand  was  un- 


Release  from  Prison.  169 

answered.  Gooch  had  applied,  in  July,  to 
Washington,  and  Allen  wrote  to  Washington 
at  the  request  of  the  governor.  Washington 
replied  he  could  not  prefer  Warner's  men  to 
those  who  had  been  prisoners  longer,  but  here 
the  correspondence  languished. 

In  the  Magazine  of  American  History,  pub 
lished  in  New  York,  January,  1887,  is  an  arti 
cle  entitled  "  A  Curious  Chapter  in  Vermont's 
History,"  dated  Ottawa,  Canada,  November, 
1886,  signed  J.  L.  Payne,  in  which  the  writer 
says  there  are  hundreds  of  manuscripts  in  the 
Canadian  archives  which  prove  that  Vermont 
narrowly  escaped  becoming  a  British  prov 
ince.  The  chief  evidence  that  he  furnishes  is 
extracts  from  the  letters  of  Capt.  Justus  Sher 
wood,  commissioner  for  General  Haldimand, 
Governor  of  Canada.  These  letters  indicate 
that  on  October  26,  1780,  Sherwood  left  Mil 
ler  Bay  with  five  privates,  a  flag,  drum,  and 
fife.  On  October  28th  he  is  at  Herrick's 
Camp,  a  Vermont  frontier  post  of  three  hun 
dred  men.  He  is  blindfolded  and  taken  to 
Colonel  Herrick's  room.  He  tells  Herrick 
that  he  is  sent  by  Major  Carleton  to  negotiate  a 
cartel  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  and  that 
he  had  dispatches  from  Governor  Haldimand 


12 


170  Ethan   Allen. 

and  Major  Carleton  to  Governor  Chittenden  and 
Governor  Allen.  Next  Sherwood  is  at  Allen's 
headquarters  in  Castleton,  and  Allen  having 
promised  absolute  secrecy,  Sherwood  informs 
him  that: 

General  Haldimand  was  no  stranger  to  their 
disputes  with  the  other  States  respecting  juris 
diction,  and  that  his  excellency  was  perfectly  well 
informed  of  all  that  had  lately  passed  between 
congress  and  Vermont,  and  of  the  fixed  intentions 
of  congress  never  to  consent  to  Vermont's  being 
a  separate  State.  General  Haldimand  felt  that  in 
this  congress  was  only  duping  them,  and  waited 
for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  crush  them;  and 
therefore  it  was  proper  for  them  to  cast  off  the 
congressional  yoke  and  resume  their  former  alle 
giance  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  by  doing 
which  they  would  secure  to  themselves  those 
privileges  they  had  so  long  contended  for  with 
New  York. 

Allen  is  reported  by  Sherwood  as  replying 
that  he  was  attached  to  the  interests  of  Ver 
mont,  and  that  nothing  but  the  continued  tyr 
anny  of  Congress  could  drive  him  from  alle 
giance  to  the  United  States ;  but  "  Should  he 
have  any  proposals  to  make  to  General  Haldi 
mand  hereafter,  they  would  be  nearly  as  fol 
lows:  He  will  expect  to  command  his  own 


Release  from  Prison.  171 

forces.  Vermont  must  be  a  government  sep 
arate  from  and  independent  of  any  other  Prov 
ince  in  America ;  must  chose  their  own  officers 
and  civil  representatives ;  be  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  of  the  other  states  offered  by  the 
King's  commissioners,  and  the  New  Hamp 
shire  Grants  as  chartered  by  Benning  Went- 
worth,  Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  must  be 
confirmed  free  from  any  patents  or  claims  from 
New  York  or  other  Provinces.  He  desires  me 
to  inform  His  Excellency  that  a  revolution  of 
this  nature  must  be  the  work  of  time.  ...  If , 
however,  Congress  should  grant  Vermont  a 
seat  in  that  Assembly  as  a  separate  State,  then 
this  negotiation  to  be  at  an  end  and  be  kept 
secret  on  both  sides." 

On  May  7,  1781,  Ira  Allen  visited  Canada, 
and  concerning  a  conference  with  him  Captain 
Sherwood  reports  to  the  governor : 

He  says  matters  are  not  yet  ripe.  Governor 
Chittenden,  General  Allen  and  the  major  part  of 
the  leading  men  are  anxious  to  bring  about  a  neu 
trality,  and  are  fully  convinced  that  Congress 
never  intends  to  confirm  them  as  a  separate  State ; 
but  they  dare  not  at  this  time  make  any  separate 
agreement  with  Great  Britain  until  the  populace 
are  better  modelled  for  the  purpose. 


172  Ethan   Allen. 

A  few  days  later  Captain  Sherwood  reports 
to  the  governor: 

Those  suspicious  circumstances,  with  the  great 
opinion  Allen  [referring  to  Col.  Ira  Allen]  seems 
to  entertain  of  the  mighty  power  and  consequence 
of  Vermont,  induce  me  to  think  they  flatter  them 
selves  with  the  belief  that,  if  Britain  should  in 
vade  them,  the  neighboring  colonies  rather  than 
lose  them  as  a  frontier  would  protect  them,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  should  congress  invade  them, 
they  could  easily  be  admitted  to  a  union  with 
Britain  at  the  latest  hour,  which  they  would  at 
the  last  extremity  choose  as  the  least  of  two  evils; 
for  Allen  says  they  hate  congress  like  the  devil, 
and  have  not  yet  a  very  good  opinion  of  Britain. 
Sometimes  I  am  inclined,  from  Allen's  discourse, 
to  hope  and  almost  believe  that  they  are  endeavor 
ing  to  prepare  for  a  reunion.  To  this  I  suppose 
I  am  somewhat  inclined  by  my  anxious  desire  that 
it  may  be  so. 

Upon  Col.  Ira  Allen's  return  to  Vermont, 
Captain  Sherwood  reports : 

I  believe  Allen  has  gone  with  a  full  determi 
nation  to  do  his  utmost  for  a  reunion,  and  I  believe 
he  will  be  seconded  by  Governor  Chittenden,  his 
brother  Ethan  Allen  and  a  few  others,  all  acting 
from  interest,  without  any  principle  of  loyalty. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

VERMONT'S  TREATMENT  BY  CONGRESS. — ALLEN'S  LET 
TERS  TO  COLONEL  WEBSTER  AND  TO  CONGRESS. 

REASONS  FOR  BELIEVING  ALLEN  A  PATRIOT. 

THE  conduct  of  Congress  in  asking"  New 
York,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire  to 
empower  it  to  settle  Vermont,  without  allow 
ing  her  to  act  as  a  party  but  allowing  her  to 
look  on,  dallying  and  postponing  the  measure 
indefinitely,  indicated  New  York's  control  of 
Congress,  and,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
Vermont's  prowess  and  pluck  would  not  sub 
mit  to  organic  annihilation  without  a  fight. 
The  British,  under  advice  from  home,  might 
easily  strive  to  take  advantage  of  the  bitter 
feelings  engendered.  Congress  was  struggling 
with  the  question  of  the  ownership  of  western 
lands.  Virginia  and  New  York  claimed  al 
most  all,  the  former  by  virtue  of  Clarke's  con 
quests  and  the  latter  by  purchase  of  the  Iro- 
quois,  both  shadowy,  attenuated  claims.  The 
smaller  States  wanted  Vermont  in  the  Union 

173 


174  Ethan   Allen. 

to  vote  against  these  claims.  Ethan  Allen's 
letters,  showing  the  turmoil  of  feeling  in  Ver 
mont,  as  well  as  his  own  patriotism,  have  of 
ten  been  quoted. 

To  Colonel  Webster  he  wrote : 

SIR: — Last  evening  I  received  a  flag  from  Major 
Carleton  commanding  the  British  forces  at  Crown 
Point,  with  proposals  from  General  Haldimand, 
commander-in-chief  in  Canada,  for  settling  a  cartel 
for  the  exchange  of  prisoners.  Major  Carleton 
has  pledged  his  faith  that  no  hostilities  shall  be 
committed  on  any  posts  or  scouts  within  the  lim 
its  of  this  state  during  the  negotiation.  Lest 
your  state  [New  York]  should  suffer  an  incursion 
in  the  interim  of  time,  I  have  this  day  dispatched 
a  flag  to  Major  Carleton,  requesting  that  he  ex 
tend  cessation  of  hostilities  on  the  northern  parts 
and  frontiers  of  New  York.  You  will  therefore 
conduct  your  affairs  as  to  scouts,  &c. ,  only  on  the 
defensive  until  you  hear  further  from  me. 

I  am,  &c.,  ETHAN  ALLEN. 

To  Colonel  Webster.     To   be  communicated   to    Colonel 
Williams  and  the  posts  on  your  frontier. 

He  also  wrote  to  Colonel  Webster : 

RUPERT,  about  break  of  day 

of  the  3ist  October,  1780. 

SIR: — Maj.  Ebenezer  Allen  who  commands  at 
Pittsford  has  sent  an  express  to  me  at  this  place, 


Vermont's   Treatment  by  Congress.        175 

informing-  me  that  one  of  his  scouts  at  i  or  2 
o'clock  P.M.  on  the  2pth  instant,  from  Chimney 
Point,  discovered  four  or  five  ships  and  gun-boats 
and  batteaux,  the  lake  covered  and  black,  all 
making  sail  to  Ticonderoga,  skiffs  flying  to  and 
from  the  vessels  to  the  batteaux  giving  orders, 
and  the  foregoing  quoted  from  the  letter  verbatim. 
But  I  cannot  imagine  that  Major  Carleton  will  vi 
olate  his  truce.  I  have  sent  Major  Clarke  with  a 
flag  to  Major  Carleton,  particularly  to  confirm  the 
truce  on  my  part,  and  likewise  to  intercede  in 
behalf  of  the  frontiers  of  New  York.  What  the 
motion  of  the  British  may  be,  or  their  design,  I 
know  not.  You  must  judge  for  yourself.  I  send 
out  scouts  to  further  discover  the  object  of  the 
enemy.  Maj.  [Ebenezer]  Allen  thinks  they  have 
a  design  against  your  state. 
From  your  humble  servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 

He  wrote  to  the  president  of  Congress : 

SUNDERLAND,  9  March,  1781. 
SIR  : — Inclosed  I  transmit  your  excellency  two 
letters  which  I  received  under  the  signature 
thereto  annexed,  that  they  may  be  laid  before  con 
gress.  Shall  make  no  comments  on  them,  but 
submit  the  disposal  of  them  to  their  consideration. 
They  are  the  identical  and  only  letters  I  ever  re 
ceived  from  him,  and  to  which  I  have  never  re 
turned  any  manner  of  answer,  nor  have  I  evrer  had 


176  Ethan   Allen. 

the  least  personal  acquaintance  with  him,  directly 
or  indirectly.  The  letter  of  the  2d  February, 
1781,  I  received  a  few  days  afore  with  a  duplicate 
of  the  other,  which  I  received  the  latter  part  of 
July  last  past,  in  the  high  road  in  Arlington, 
which  I  laid  before  Governor  Chittenden  and  a 
number  of  other  principal  gentlemen  of  the  state 
(within  ten  minutes  after  I  received  it)  for  advice ; 
the  result,  after  mature  deliberation,  and  consider 
ing  the  extreme  circumstances  of  the  state,  was  to 
take  no  further  notice  of  the  matter.  The  reasons 
of  such  a  procedure  are  very  obvious  to  people  of 
this  state,  when  they  consider  that  congress  has 
previously  claimed  an  exclusive  right  of  arbitrat 
ing  on  the  existence  of  Vermont  as  a  separate 
government.  New  York,  New  Hampshire  and 
Massachusetts  Bay  at  the  same  time  claiming  this 
territory,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  exerting 
their  influence  to  make  schisms  among  the  citizens, 
thereby  in  a  considerable  degree  weakening  this 
government  and  exposing  its  inhabitants  to  the 
incursions  of  the  British  troops  and  their  savage 
allies  from  the  province  of  Quebec.  It  seems 
that  those  governments,  regardless  of  Vermont's 
contiguous  situation  to  Canada,  do  not  consider 
that  their  northern  frontiers  have  been  secured  by 
her,  nor  of  the  merit  of  this  state  in  a  long  and 
hazardous  war,  but  have  flattered  themselves  with 
the  expectation  that  this  state  could  not  fail  (their 
help)  to  be  desolated  by  a  foreign  enemy,  and  that 
their  exorbitant  claims  and  avaricious  designs  may 


Vermont's   Treatment  by  Congress.        177 

at  some  future  period  take  place  in  this  district  of 
country.  Notwithstanding  those  complicated  em 
barrassments,  and  I  might  add  discouragements, 
Vermont  during  the  last  campaign  defended  her 
frontiers,  and  at  the  close  of  it  opened  a  truce 
with  General  Haldimand  (who  commands  the 
British  troops  in  Canada)  in  order  to  settle  a  cartel 
for  the  mutual  exchange  of  prisoners,  which 
continued  near  four  weeks  in  the  same  situation, 
during  which  time  Vermont  secured  the  northern 
frontiers  of  her  own,  and  that  of  the  state  of  New 
York  in  consequence  of  my  including  the  latter  in 
the  truce,  although  that  government  could  have 
but  little  claim  to  my  protection.  I  am  confident 
that  congress  will  not  dispute  my  sincere  attach 
ment  to  the  cause  of  my  country,  though  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  I  am  fully  grounded  in  opinion 
that  Vermont  has  indubitable  right  to  agree  on 
terms  of  cessation  of  hostilities  with  Great  Britain, 
provided  the  United  States  persist  in  rejecting 
her  application  for  a  union  with  them,  for  Ver 
mont  of  all  people  would  be  the  most  miserable 
were  she  obliged  to  defend  the  independence  of 
United  States  and  they  at  the  same  time  claiming 
full  liberty  to  overturn  and  ruin  the  independence 
of  Vermont.  I  am  persuaded  when  congress 
considers  the  circumstances  of  this  state,  they  will 
be  more  surprised  that  I  have  transmitted  them 
the  inclosed  letters  than  that  I  have  kept  them  in 
custody  so  long,  for  I  am  as  resolutely  determined 
to  defend  the  independence  of  Vermont,  as  con- 


178  Ethan   Allen. 

gress  are  that  of  the  United  States,  and,  rather 
than   fail,   will  retire  with   hardy  Green   Moun 
tain  Boys  into  the  desolate  caverns  of  the  moun 
tains  and  wage  war  with  human  nature  at  large. 
(Signed)         ETHAN  ALLEN. 

His  Excellency  Samuel  Huntingdon,  Esq. ,  Pres.  of  Con 
gress. 

Allen  wrote  to  General  Schuyler: 

BENNINGTON,  May  15,  1781. 

A  flag  which  I  sent  last  fall  to  the  British  com 
manding  officer  at  Crown  Point,  and  which  was 
there  detained  near  one  month,  on  their  return 
gave  me  to  understand  that  they  [the  British],  at 
several  different  times,  threatened  to  captivate  your 
own  person :  said  that  it  had  been  in  their  power 
to  take  some  of  your  family  the  last  campaign 
[during  Carleton's  invasion  in  October,  1780,  prob 
ably],  but  that  they  had  an  eye  to  yourself.  I 
must  confess  that  such  conversation  before  my  flag 
seems  rather  flummery  than  real  premeditated 
design.  However,  that  there  was  such  conversa 
tion  I  do  not  dispute,  which  you  will  make  such 
improvement  of  as  you  see  fit.  I  shall  conclude 
with  assuring  your  honor,  that  notwithstanding 
the  late  reports,  or  rather  surmises  of  my  corre 
sponding  with  the  enemy  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
United  States,  it  is  wholly  without  foundation. 

I  am,  sir,  with  due  respect,  your  honor's  obe 
dient  and  humble  servant, 

ETHAN  ALLEN. 
To  General  Schuyler. 


Vermont's   Treatment  by  Congress.        179 

The  following  letter,  believed  by  some  peo 
ple  to  have  been  written  by  Allen  to  General 
Haldimand,  June  16,  1782,  though  unsigned, 
contains  what  is  considered  by  his  traducers 
damning  evidence : 

SIR  : — I  have  to  acquaint  your  excellency  that  I 
had  a  long  conference  with  ...  [a  British  agent] 
last  night.  He  tells  me  that  through  the  channel 
of  A  [Sherwood]  he  had  to  request  me  in  your 
name  to  repair  to  the  shipping  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  to  hold  a  personal  conference  with  his  [your] 
excellency.  But  as  the  bearer  is  now  going  to 
get  out  of  my  house  to  repair  to  his  excellency, 
and  would  have  set  out  yesterday  had  not  the  in 
telligence  of  the  arrival  of  ...  postponed  it 
until  to-day.  I  thought  it  expedient  to  wait  your 
excellency  reconsidering  the  matter,  after  dis 
cussing  the  peculiar  situation  of  both  the  external 
and  internal  policy  of  this  state  with  the  gentle 
man  who  will  deliver  this  to  you,  and  shall  have, 
by  the  time  your  excellency  has  been  acquainted 
with  the  state  of  the  facts  now  existing,  time  to 
bring  about  a  further  and  more  extended  connec 
tion  in  favor  of  the  British  interest  which  is  now 
working  at  the  general  assembly  at  Windsor,  near 
the  Connecticut  River.  The  last  refusal  of  con 
gress  to  admit  this  state  into  union  has  done  more 
to  awaken  the  common  people  to  a  sense  of  that 
interest  and  resentment  of  their  conduct  than  all 
which  they  had  done  before.  By  their  own  ac- 


i8o  Ethan   Allen. 

count,  they  declare  that  Vermont  does  not  and 
shall  not  belong  to  their  confederacy.  The  con 
sequence  is,  that  they  may  fight  their  own  battles. 
It  is  liberty  which  they  say  they  are  after,  but  will 
not  extend  it  to  Vermont.  Therefore  Vermont 
does  not  belong  either  to  the  confederacy  or  the 
controversy,  but  are  a  neutral  republic.  All  the 
frontier  towns  are  firm  with  these  gentlemen  in 
the  present  administration  of  government,  and, 
to  speak  within  bounds,  they  have  a  clear  majority 
of  the  rank  and  file  in  their  favor.  I  am,  etc. 

N.  B. — If  it  should  be  your  excellency's  pleasure, 
after  having  conversed  with  the  gentleman  who 
will  deliver  these  lines,  that  I  should  wait  on  your 
excellency  at  any  part  of  Lake  Champlain,  I  will 
do  it,  except  I  should  find  that  it  would  hazard  my 
life  too  much.  There  is  a  majority  in  congress, 
and  a  number  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  con 
tinental  army  continually  planning  against  me.  I 
shall  do  everything  in  my  power  to  render  this 
state  a  British  province. 

Ira  Allen,  that  shrewd  politician,  says  of  the 
letter: 

This  we  consider  a  political  proceeding  to  pre 
vent  the  British  forces  from  invading  this  State. 

Our  reasons  for  believing  Ethan  Allen  al 
ways  a  patriot  are : 

First.  His  known  faithfulness  to  the  Ameri 
can  cause  in  every  case. 


Vermont's   Treatment  by  Congress.        181 

Second.  His  hatred  of  the  British  and  con 
temptuous  rejection  of  their  proffers  of  honor 
and  emoluments  when  in  their  power  and  in 
no  personal  danger  if  he  accepted  them. 

Third.  His  natural  obstinacy  in  clinging  to 
a  cause  he  had  espoused. 

Fourth.  The  repeated  efforts  of  the  Ver 
mont  government,  in  which  Allen  was  en 
gaged,  to  induce  Congress  to  admit  it  to  the 
Union  continued  during  the  negotiation. 

Fifth.  At  Allen's  request  the  truce  offered 
by  the  British  included  New  York's  eastern 
frontier,  and  Vermont  promptly  responded  to 
all  calls  upon  her  for  help. 

Sixth.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Gen 
eral  Washington  was  informed  by  General  Al 
len,  in  advance  of  the  Haldimand  negotiations, 
of  their  purpose. 

The  state's  peculiar  frontier,  threatened  by 
Canada,  unsupported  by  the  other  states,  dis 
turbed  by  internal  dissensions,  unable  to  defend 
herself  by  force,  made  it  necessary  to  use  strat 
egy.  No  authority  was  given  the  commission 
ers  by  the  executive  or  by  the  legislature  to 
treat  of  anything  but  an  exchange  of  prisoners. 
There  is  no  record  that  I  can  find  that  an  ef 
fort  was  made  at  any  time  to  induce  Vermont- 


1 82  Ethan   Allen. 

ers  at  large  to  consider  the  subject  of  a  British 
union.  Indeed,  Governor  Chittenden,  in  1793, 
giving  a  list  of  those  in  the  secret,  mentions 
only  eight,  although  Ira  Allen  said,  in  1781, 
that  more  were  added. 

It  seems  to  me  that  Allen  shows  in  this  cor 
respondence  the  talent  of  a  diplomat,  a  talent 
which  our  state  needed  in  its  formative  period 
to  supplement  the  audacity  of  the  hardy  Green 
Mountain  Boys.  There  could  be  no  question 
of  disloyalty  to  the  United  States,  because  Ver 
mont  had  never  belonged  to  them.  He  was 
intensely  loyal  to  his  own  state,  for  whose  wel 
fare  he  strove,  and  if  Congress  still  refused  to 
admit  her  to  the  Union,  there  was  no  other  re 
source  than  to  ally  her  with  Great  Britain  in 
self-defence. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

ALLEN  WITH  GATES. — AT  BENNINGTON. — DAVID  RED 
DING. — REPLY  TO  CLINTON. EMBASSIES  TO  CON 
GRESS. COMPLAINT  AGAINST  BROTHER  LEVI. 

ALLEN  IN  COURT. 

WHEN  Allen  bade  adieu  to  Washington  at 
Valley  Forge,  he  rode  on  horseback  to  Fish- 
kill  with  General  Gates  and  suite,  arriving  at 
that  place  on  the  iSth  of  May,  1778,  the  very 
day  his  brother  Heman  died  at  Salisbury. 
The  six  or  eight  days  occupied  by  the  trip 
across  New  Jersey  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
unalloyed  enjoyment  to  the  hero  of  Ticonde- 
roga.  He  tells  us  that  Gates  treated  him  with 
the  generosity  of  a  lord  and  the  freedom  of  a 
boon  companion.  That  this  intercourse  im 
pressed  Gates  favorably  with  Allen  his  corre 
spondence  with  General  Stark  later  demon 
strates.  On  Sunday  evening,  the  3ist  of  May, 
Allen  arrived  at  Bennington.  The  town  be 
ing  orthodox  and  Congregationalist,  Sunday  is 
observed  with  Puritanic  severity,  but  he  finds 

183 


1 84  Ethan   Allen. 

the  people  too  jubilant  for  religious  solemnity. 
The  old  iron  six-pound  cannon  from  Fort  Hoo- 
sac  is  brought  out  and  fired  in  honor  of  the 
new  state  of  Vermont. 

What  changes  have  taken  place  during  his 
three  years'  absence !  His  only  son  is  dead ; 
his  wife  and  four  daughters  are  in  Sunderland ; 
two  brothers  have  become  state  officers.  Levi 
Allen,  one  of  the  foremost  Green  Mountain 
Boys  in  1775,  has  now  become  a  tory.  Bur- 
goyne  has  swept  along  the  western  borders 
and  has  been  captured.  Allen's  old  followers, 
under  Seth  Warner,  have  won  renown  at  Que 
bec,  Montreal,  Hubbardston,  Bennington,  Sar 
atoga,  and  Ticonderoga.  The  constitution  has 
been  formed  and  the  state  government  organ 
ized.  A  legislature  has  been  elected,  held  one 
session,  and  adjourned  to  meet  again  this 
week. 

One  of  the  great  spectacles  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  civilization  had  been  appointed  for  this 
time  and  place.  A  criminal,  David  Redding, 
convicted  of  treason,  was  to  be  executed. 
Upon  a  petition  for  rehearing  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  been  convicted  by  a  jury  of  only 
six  men,  the  governor  had  reprieved  Redding 
until  Thursday,  the  nth.  The  news  of  the 


Allen  with  Gates.  185 

reprieve,  noised  through  the  town,  called  to 
gether  a  disappointed  and  angry  crowd,  in  the 
midst  of  which  Allen  appeared,  mounted  a 
stump,  and  cried:  "Attention,  the  whole!" 
He  then  expressed  his  sympathy  with  the  peo 
ple,  explained  the  illegality  of  the  trial,  and 
told  them  to  go  home  and  return  in  a  week, 
and  they  "  shall  see  a  man  hung ;  if  not  Red 
ding,  I  will  be,"  and  the  appeased  crowd  peace 
ably  dispersed.  In  the  next  trial  Allen  was 
appointed  state's  attorney  to  prosecute  Red 
ding,  who  was  condemned. 

Soon  Allen's  attention  is  called  to  the  con 
troversy  between  New  York  and  Vermont. 
In  the  preceding  February,  after  the  consti 
tution  was  adopted,  before  the  government 
was  inaugurated,  Governor  Clinton,  of  New 
York,  issued  a  proclamation  ostentatious  with 
apparent  clemency  and  generosity.  Ethan 
Allen  was  selected  as  the  proper  man  to  ex 
pose  the  pompous  fraud.  Clinton  began  by 
saying  that  the  disaffection  existing  in  Ver 
mont  was  partially  justified  by  the  atrocious 
acts  of  the  British  government  while  New 
York  was  a  colony,  the  act  of  outlawry  which 
sentenced  Allen  and  others  to  death  without 
trial,  the  fees  and  unjust  preference  in  grants 
13 


r86  Ethan   Allen. 

to  servants  of  the  crown  over  honest  settlers, 
and  he  offered  to  discharge  all  claims  tinder 
the  outlawry  act,  to  reduce  the  New  York 
quit-rents  to  the  New  Hampshire  rate,  to  make 
the  fees  of  patents  reasonable,  and  to  confirm 
all  grants  made  by  New  Hampshire  and  Mas 
sachusetts. 

Allen  replied,  in  a  pamphlet,  that  the  British 
act  of  outlawry  had  been  dead  by  its  own  pro 
vision  two  and  a  half  years,  no  thanks  to  Clin 
ton  ;  that  most  of  the  grants  of  New  Hampshire 
and  Massachusetts  had  been  covered  by  New 
York  patents,  and  that,  as  a  matter  of  law,  it 
was  impossible  for  New  York  to  cancel  her 
former  patents  and  confirm  the  New  Hamp 
shire  grants,  and  he  cited  the  opinion  of  the 
lords  of  trade  to  that  effect. 

But  Vermont  was  in  a  dangerous  position  in 
reference  to  New  Hampshire.  A  portion  of 
that  state  had  seceded  and  united  with  Ver 
mont.  The  two  states  had  fought  side  by 
side,  but  now  New  Hampshire  had  become 
unfriendly  and  remained  so  for  years.  The 
governor  and  council,  perplexed  with  the  diffi 
culty,  appointed  Allen  an  agent  to  visit  Con 
gress  and  ask  for  advice.  This  is  his  first 
embassy  from  Vermont  to  Congress.  He  re- 


Allen  with  Gates.  187 

ported  that  "unless  the  union  with  New 
Hampshire  towns  is  dissolved  the  nation  will 
annihilate  Vermont." 

His  second  embassy  was  with  Jonas  Fay,  in 
1779,  to  inform  Congress  of  the  progress  of 
affairs  in  Vermont. 

His  third  embassy  was  in  1780,  when  he  was 
chosen  by  the  legislature  as  the  chairman  of 
a  very  able  and  eminent  committee,  Stephen 
R.  Bradley,  Moses  Robinson,  Paul  Spooner, 
and  Jonas  Fay,  to  act  as  counsel  for  Vermont 
before  Congress  against  the  ablest  men  of  New 
York  and  New  Hampshire. 

In  1779  he  was  sent  to  the  Massachusetts 
court  with  a  letter  from  the  governor  asking 
for  a  statement  of  Massachusetts'  claim  to 
Vermont.  The  reply  was  that  Massachusetts 
claimed  west  from  the  Merrimac,  and  three 
miles  further  north,  to  the  Pacific.  This  in 
cluded  part  of  Vermont. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  Allen  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  legislature  from  Arlington 
while  his  family  lived  in  Sunderland,  and  he 
called  Bennington  his  "usual  home."  It  is 
notable,  also,  that  the  constitution  required 
every  member  of  the  legislature  to  take  an 
oath  that  he  believed  in  the  divine  inspiration 


1 88  Ethan   Allen. 

of  the  Bible  and  professed  the  Protestant  re 
ligion,  an  oath  which  Allen  refused  to  take, 
and  yet  was  allowed  to  act  as  a  member. 

It  was  in  1778  that  Allen  complained  to  the 
court  of  confiscation  that  his  brother  Levi  had 
become  a  tory;  had  passed  counterfeit  Con 
tinental  money ;  that  under  pretence  of  helping 
him  while  a  prisoner  on  Long  Island,  he  had 
been  detected  in  supplying  the  British  with 
provisions.  He  stated  that  Levi  owned  real 
estate  in  Vermont  and  prayed  that  that  estate 
might  be  confiscated  to  the  public  treasury. 
For  this  act  Levi  afterward  challenged  Ethan 
to  a  duel,  but  Ethan  took  no  notice  of  the  chal 
lenge. 

In  the  spring  of  1779  the  Yorkers  in  Wind- 
ham  County  wrote  to  Governor  Clinton  that 
unless  New  York  aided  them,  "our  persons 
and  property  must  be  at  the  disposal  of  Ethan 
Allen ;  which  is  more  to  be  dreaded  than  death 
with  all  its  terrors." 

In  May  the  superior  court  sat  at  Westmin 
ster.  Thirty-six  Yorkers  were  in  jail.  Their 
offence  consisted  in  rescuing  two  cows  from 
an  officer  who  had  seized  them  because  their 
owners  had  refused  to  do  military  duty  on  the 
frontier  or  to  pay  for  substitutes.  Ethan  Al- 


Allen  with  Gates.  189 

len  was  there  by  order  of  Governor  Chitten- 
den,  with  one  hundred  Green  Mountain  Boys, 
to  aid  the  court.  Three  prisoners  were  dis 
charged  for  want  of  evidence,  three  more  be 
cause  they  were  minors.  Allen,  hearing  of 
this,  entered  the  court-room  in  his  military 
dress,  large  three-cornered  hat  profusely  orna 
mented  with  gold  lace,  and  a  large  sword 
swinging  by  his  side.  Breathless  with  haste, 
he  bowed  to  Chief  Justice  Robinson  and  be 
gan  attacking  the  attorneys.  Robinson  told 
him  the  court  would  gladly  listen  to  him  as  a 
citizen,  but  not  as  a  military  man  in  a  military 
dress.  Allen  threw  his  hat  on  the  table  and 
unbuckled  his  sword,  exclaiming:  "  For  forms 
of  government  let  fools  contest;  whate'er  is 
best  administered  is  best."  Observing  the 
judges  whispering  together,  he  said :  "  I  said 
that  fools  might  contest,  not  your  honors,  not 
your  honors."  To  the  state's  attorney,  Noah 
Smith,  he  said :  "  I  would  have  the  young  gen 
tleman  know  that  with  my  logic  and  reasoning 
from  the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  I  can  upset 
his  Blackstones,  his  whitestones,  his  grave 
stones,  and  his  brimstones."  Then  he  con 
tinued  : 


190  Ethan  Allen. 

Fifty  miles  I  have  come  through  the  woods  with 
my  brave  men  to  support  the  civil  with  the  mili 
tary  arm,  to  quell  any  disturbances  should  they 
arise,  and  to  aid  the  sheriff  and  court  in  prosecut 
ing  these  Yorkers,  the  enemies  of  our  noble  State. 
I  see,  however,  that  some  of  them,  by  the  quirks 
of  this  artful  lawyer,  Bradley,  are  escaping  from 
the  punishment  they  so  richly  deserve,  and  I  find 
also,  that  this  little  Noah  Smith  is  far  from  under 
standing  his  business,  since  he  at  one  moment 
moves  for  a  prosecution  and  in  the  next  wishes  to 
withdraw  it.  Let  me  warn  your  honors  to  be  on 
your  guard  lest  these  delinquents  should  slip 
through  your  fingers  and  thus  escape  the  rewards 
so  justly  due  their  crimes. 

Allen  then  put  on  his  hat,  buckled  on  his 
sword,  and  departed  with  great  dignity. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

ALLEN  AT  GUILFORD. "  ORACLES  OF  REASON.  " — JOHN 

STARK. ST.  JOHN  DE  CREVECCEUR. HONORS  TO 

ALLEN.  —  SHAY'S     REBELLION. —  SECOND     MAR 
RIAGE. 

IN  1782  the  rebellious  York  element  in 
Windham  County  again  called  Ethan  to  the 
field.  In  Guilford  forty-six  men  ambushed 
and  fired  on  Allen's  party  in  the  evening. 
Allen,  knowing  the  terror  of  his  name,  enter 
ing  Guilford  on  foot,  uttered  this  proclama 
tion:  "I,  Ethan  Allen,  do  declare  that  I  will 
give  no  quarter  to  the  man,  woman,  or  child 
who  shall  oppose  me,  and  unless  the  inhabi 
tants  of  Guilford  peacefully  submit  to  the  au 
thority  of  Vermont,  I  swear  that  I  will  lay  it 
as  desolate  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  by  God." 

In  1784  Allen  published  a  book  entitled 
"  Reason,  the  Only  Oracle  of  Man :  or,  A  Com 
pendious  System  of  Natural  Religion."  In 
this  book  Allen  endeavored  to  prove  that  the 

Bible  was  not  inspired,  but  he  declared  it  a 
191 


192  Ethan   Allen. 

necessity  that  a  future  life  of  rewards  and  pun 
ishments  follow  the  good  and  evil  of  this  life. 
His  idea  of  the  Deity  is  expressed  in  these 
words : 

The  knowledge  of  the  being,  perfections,  cre 
ation  and  providence  of  God  and-the  immortality 
of  our  souls  is  the  foundation  of  our  religion. 

This  book  contained  487  pages.  Fifteen 
hundred  copies  were  issued,  but  most  of  them 
were  destroyed  by  the  burning  of  the  printing 
office.  Allen  wrote  to  a  friend : 

In  this  book  you  read  my  very  soul,  for  I  have 
not  concealed  my  opinion.  I  expect  that  the 
clergy  and  their  devotees  will  proclaim  war  with 
me  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Sometimes  Allen  is  too  profane  to  be  re 
peated,  sometimes  too  frivolous  for  sacred  sub 
jects.  Speaking  of  his  prospects  of  being  hung 
in  England,  he  said: 

As  to  the  world  of  spirits,  though  I  know  noth 
ing  of  the  mode  or  manner  of  it,  I  expected  never 
theless,  when  I  should  arrive  at  such  a  world, 
that  I  should  be  as  well  treated  as  other  gentle 
men  of  my  merit 

Among  the  pleasant  friends  that  Allen 
formed  at  this  time  was  John  Stark.  The 


Allen  at  Guilford.  193 

hero  of  Ticonderoga  had  never  met  the  hero 
of  Bennington.  Three  weeks  after  Allen's 
arrival  in  Bennington,  Stark  wrote  to  him  pro 
posing  an  interview  at  Albany,  where  he  was 
stationed  as  brigadier-general  in  command  of 
the  northern  department.  He  also  wrote  to 
General  Gates: 

I  should  be  very  glad  to  have  Colonel  Ethan 
Allen  command  in  the  grants,  as  he  is  a  very 
suitable  man  to  deal  with  tories  and  such  like 
villains. 

Four  days  later  Gates  wrote  Stark : 

I  now  inclose  two  letters,  one  to  Colonel  Ethan 
Allen  and  one  to  Colonel  Bedel  ...  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  take  Colonel  Allen's  opinion  on  the 
subject,  with  whom  I  wish  you  to  open  a  corre 
spondence. 

Another  pleasant  episode  in  Allen's  life  was 
his  association  with  St.  John  de  Crevecceur, 
who  was  the  French  consul  in  New  York  for 
ten  years  following  the  revolution.  Sieur 
Crevecceur  married  an  American  Quakeress, 
bought  a  farm  which  he  cleared,  wrote  a  book 
in  English  called  "  Letters  from  an  American 
Farmer,"  and  three  volumes  in  French  about 
upper  Pennsylvania  and  New  York.  He  wrote 


IQ4  Ethan   Allen. 

to  Ethan  Allen  proposing  to  have  the  Vermont 
state  seal  engraved  in  silver  by  the  king's 
best  engravers,  asked  for  maps  of  the  state, 
suggested  naming  some  towns  after  French 
statesmen  who  had  befriended  America.  (St. 
Johnsbury  was  named  for  Crevecceur.)  He 
asked  Allen  for  copies  of  his  "  Oracles  of  Rea 
son"  and  also  for  some  seeds. 

Instances  multiply  showing  the  prominence 
of  Ethan  Allen  in  the  new  state.  During 
Shay's  rebellion  in  Massachusetts,  before  at 
tempting  to  seize  the  United  States  arsenal  at 
Springfield,  he  sent  two  of  his  principal  offi 
cers  to  Ethan  Allen  offering  to  him  the  com 
mand  of  the  Massachusetts  insurgents,  repre 
senting  one-third  of  the  population  of  that 
state.  Allen  rejected  the  offer  with  contempt 
and  ordered  the  messengers  to  leave  the  state. 
He  also  wrote  to  the  governor  of  Massachu 
setts  and  Colonel  Benjamin  Simmons,  of  west 
ern  Massachusetts,  informing  them  of  the  ef 
forts  made  in  Vermont  by  malcontents  from 
that  state,  and  that  Vermont  was  exerting  her 
self  vigorously  to  prevent  the  evil  consequences 
of  the  insurgents'  action,  and  promising  the 
most  cordial  co-operation  in  the  future. 

The  incidents  of  Allen's  life  and  his  writ- 


Allen  at  Guiljord.  195 

ings  are  not  published  in  any  one  volume,  but 
are  scattered  through  ill-bound  primers,  are 
found  in  fiction,  in  addresses,  and  in  huge 
double-column  tomes  which  are  not  accessible 
to  the  people. 

The  story  of  his  second  marriage  gives  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  rough-and-ready  audacious 
soldier.  On  the  gth  of  February,  1784,  the 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  were  at  break 
fast  with  lawyer  Stephen  R.  Bradley,  of  West 
minster,  when  General  Allen,  in  a  sleigh  with 
a  span  of  dashing  black  horses  and  a  colored 
driver,  drove  up  to  the  house.  Passing  through 
the  breakfast-room,  he  found  in  the  next  room 
the  spirited  young  widow  of  twenty-four  sum 
mers,  Mrs.  Frances  Buchanan,  who  was  living 
in  the  house  with  her  mother,  Mrs.  Wall. 
Dressed  in  her  morning  gown,  Mrs.  Buchanan 
was  standing  on  a  chair  arranging  china  and 
glass  on  some  upper  shelves.  She  amused  her 
visitor  with  some  witticism  about  the  broken 
decanter  in  her  hands;  a  brief  chat  ensued, 
then  Allen  said :  "  Fanny,  if  we  are  ever  to  be 
married,  now  is  the  time,  for  I  am  on  my  way 
to  Arlington." 

"Very  well,"  she  replied;  "give  me  time  to 
put  on  my  josie." 


196  Ethan  Allen. 

The  couple  passed  into  a  third  room,  where 
the  judges  were  smoking,  and  Allen  said : 

"Judge  Robinson,  this  young  woman  and 
myself  have  concluded  to  marry  each  other, 
and  to  have  you  perform  the  ceremony." 

"When?" 

"  Now !  For  myself  I  have  no  great  opinion 
of  such  formality,  and  from  what  I  can  dis 
cover  she  thinks  as  little  of  it  as  I  do.  But  as 
a  decent  respect  for  the  opinion  of  mankind 
seems  to  require  it,  you  will  proceed." 

"  General,  this  is  an  important  matter,  and 
have  you  given  it  serious  consideration?" 

"Certainly;  but,"  here  the  general  glanced 
proudly  at  his  handsome  and  accomplished 
bride,  twenty-two  years  younger  than  himself, 
perhaps  also  conscious  of  his  own  mature,  stal 
wart  symmetry,  "  I  do  not  think  it  requires 
much  consideration  in  this  particular  case." 

"  Do  you  promise  to  live  with  Frances  agree 
ably  to  the  law  of  God?" 

"Stop!  stop!"  cried  Allen,  looking  out  of 
the  window.  "Yes,  according  to  the  law  of 
God  as  written  in  the  great  book  of  Nature. 
Go  on!  go  on!  my  team  is  at  the  door." 

Soon  the  bride's  guitar  and  trunk  were  in 


Allen  at  Guilford.  197 

the  sleigh  and  the  bells  jingled  merrily  as  they 
dashed  westward. 

Before  his  second  marriage  John  Norton,  a 
tavern-keeper  of  Westminster,  said : 

"  Fanny,  if  you  marry  General  Allen  you  will 
be  the  queen  of  a  new  state." 

"Yes,"  she  replied,  "and  if  I  should  marry 
the  devil  I  would  be  queen  of  hell." 

The  children  of  the  second  marriage  were 
three:  one  daughter  who  died  in  a  nunnery 
in  Montreal,  and  two  sons  who  became  officers 
in  the  United  States  Army  and  died  at  Nor 
folk,  Va.  Ethan  Allen,  of  New  York,  is  a 
grandson  of  the  second  wife. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

DEATH. CIVILIZATION  IN  ALLEN'S  TIME. — ESTIMATES 

OF    ALLEN. — RELIGIOUS    FEELING  IN    VERMONT. — 
MONUMENTS. 

IN  1787  Allen  moved  to  Burlington,  where, 
for  the  last  two  years  of  his  life,  he  devoted 
himself  to  farming.  Through  a  partial  failure 
of  the  crops  in  1789,  Allen  found  himself  short 
of  hay  in  the  winter.  Col.  Ebenezer  Allen, 
who  lived  in  South  Hero,  an  island  near  Bur 
lington,  offered  to  supply  Ethan  what  he 
needed  if  he  would  come  for  it.  Accordingly, 
with  a  team  and  man,  Ethan  crossed  the  ice 
on  the  loth  of  February.  Col.  Ebenezer  Allen 
had  invited  some  neighbors,  who  were  old 
friends  and  acquaintances,  to  meet  his  guest, 
and  the  afternoon  and  evening  were  spent  in 
telling  stories.  Ethan  was  persuaded  to  stay 
over  night  and  the  next  morning  started  for 
home  with  his  load  of  hay.  During  the  jour 
ney  his  negro  spoke  to  him  several  times  but 

received  no  reply.     On  reaching  home  he  dis- 
198 


Death.  199 

covered  that  his  master  was  unconscious.  He 
was  carried  into  his  house  and  died  from  apo 
plexy  in  a  few  hours. 

To  estimate  properly  Allen's  force  of  char 
acter  and  large  mind,  we  should  appreciate 
the  crude  civilization  of  the  early  pioneer  days 
of  Vermont,  when  self-culture  could  only  be 
procured  by  great  qualities.  The  population 
was  about  five  thousand,  chiefly  on  the  east 
side  of  the  mountains.  The  bulk  of  the  peo 
ple  lived  in  log  houses  with  earthen  floors, 
and  with  windows  made  of  oiled  paper,  isin 
glass,  raw  hides,  or  sometimes  6x8  panes  of 
glass.  Smaller  log  houses  were  used  to  pro 
tect  domestic  animals  from  wolves  and  bears, 
as  well  as  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather. 
It  was  the  life  of  the  frontier  in  the  wilder 
ness,  when  the  struggle  for  bare  sustenance 
left  little  time  for  the  acquirement  of  knowl 
edge,  much  less  of  accomplishments. 

Allen  is  not  the  best  representative  man  of 
his  time,  but  his  experience  was  so  startling, 
his  character  so  piquant,  that  a  sketch  of  him 
better  photographs  Vermont  before  her  ad 
mission  to  the  Union  than  that  of  any  other 
man.  As  a  statesman  he  was  infinitely  inferior 
to  Chipman  or  Bradley;  as  a  soldier,  Seth 


200  Ethan   Allen. 

Warner,  although  six  years  younger,  was  his 
superior;  Ira  Allen  was  more  capable  and 
more  accomplished ;  Governor  Chittenden  was 
more  discreet  in  the  management  of  state  af 
fairs.  As  a  captive,  absent  from  the  state 
from  1775  to  1778,  Allen  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  or  the 
first  organization  of  our  state  government ;  as 
a  member  of  the  legislature  he  won  no  reputa 
tion.  He  lacked  the  scholarly  culture  and  pol 
ished  suavity  of  the  highest  type  of  gentleman ; 
he  was  sometimes  horribly  profane.  He  de 
lighted  in  battling  with  the  religious  orthodoxy 
of  New  England ;  he  wrote  a  book  to  disprove 
the  authenticity  of  the  Bible ;  yet  he  was  en 
ergetic  in  his  expressions  of  veneration  for  the 
being  and  perfection  of  the  Deity,  and  a  firm 
believer  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
Thoroughly  familiar  with  the  history  and  law 
of  the  New  York  controversy,  his  telling  ex 
posure  of  the  subtle  casuistry  of  the  more 
learned  New  York  lawyers ;  his  thorough  sym 
pathy  with  the  settlers  in  all  their  trials  and 
amusements;  his  geniality,  sociability,  and 
aptness  in  story-telling;  his  detestation  of  all 
dishonesty  and  meanness ;  his  burning  zeal  for 
American  freedom ;  his  adroit  success,  his  bit- 


Death.  20 1 

ter  sufferings,  even  his  one  unlucky  rashness 
in  attacking  Montreal  when  deserted  by  the 
very  man  who  had  induced  him  to  undertake  it ; 
his  numerous  writings — all  combine  to  make 
him  the  most  popular  of  our  state  characters. 

Washington's  masterly  knowledge  of  human 
nature  gives  value  to  his  brief  portrait  of  Allen. 
Immediately  on  being  released  from  captiv 
ity,  Allen  visited  Washington  at  Valley  Forge. 
Washington  wrote  to  Congress  in  regard  to 
Allen. 

His  fortitude  and  firmness  seem  to  have  placed 
him  out  of  the  reach  of  misfortune.  There  is  an 
original  something  about  him  that  commands  ad 
miration,  and  his  long  captivity  and  sufferings 
have  only  served  to  increase,  if  possible,  his  en 
thusiastic  zeal.  He  appears  very  desirous  of 
rendering  his  services  to  the  states  and  of  being 
employed,  and  at  the  same  time  he  does  not  dis 
cover  any  ambition  for  high  rank. 

Senator  Edmunds  says  of  Allen :  "  Ethan  Al 
len  was  a  man  of  gifts  rather  than  acquire 
ments,  although  he  was  not  by  any  means  de 
ficient  in  that  knowledge  obtained  from  read 
ing  and  from  intercourse  with  men.  But  it 
was  the  natural  force  of  his  character  that 
made  him  eminent  among  the  worthiest  who 
14 


2O2  Ethan  Allen. 

founded  the  republic,  and  pre-eminent  among 
those  who  founded  the  state  of  Vermont." 

Col.  John  A.  Graham,  who  knew  Allen  well 
the  last  two  or  three  years  of  his  life,  published 
a  book  in  England  a  few  years  after  Allen's 
death  and  therein  says :  "  Ethan  Allen  was  a 
man  of  extraordinary  character.  He  possessed 
great  talents  but  was  deficient  in  education. 
In  all  his  dealings  he  possessed  the  strictest 
sense  of  honor,  integrity,  and  uprightness." 

The  Hon.  Daniel  P.  Thompson  attributes  to 
him  "wisdom,  aptitude  to  command,  ability 
to  inspire  respect  and  confidence,  a  high  sense 
of  honor,  generosity,  and  kindness." 

Jared  Sparks  calls  him  "brave,  generous, 
consistent,  true  to  his  friends,  true  to  his  coun 
try,  seeking  at  all  times  to  promote  the  best 
interests  of  mankind." 

Governor  Hiland  Hall  says :  "  He  acquired 
much  information  by  reading  and  observation. 
His  knowledge  of  the  political  situation  of  the 
state  and  country  was  general  and  accurate. 
As  a  writer,  he  was  ready,  clear,  and  forcible. 
His  style  attracted  and  fixed  attention  and  in 
spired  confidence  in  his  sincerity  and  justice." 

John  Jay  speaks  of  his  writings  as  having 
"wit,  quaintness,  and  impudence." 


Death.  203 

In  financial  skill  Ethan  was  inferior  to  his 
brother  Ira;  as  a  soldier  he  lacked  the  cool 
judgment  of  Seth  Warner;  in  administrative 
ability  he  had  neither  the  tact  nor  success  of 
Governor  Chittenden ;  as  a  statesman  he  was 
destitute  of  the  learning  and  ability  of  Chip- 
man  and  Bradley ;  but  as  a  patriot  and  friend 
he  was  true  as  a  star.  No  money,  no  office, 
could  bribe ;  no  insults,  no  suffering,  tame  him. 
As  a  boon  companion  he  was  rollicking  and 
popular.  Many  are  the  stories  told  of  his 
hearty  good-will  toward  all.  One  instance  will 
show  his  power  to  attach  the  common  people 
to  him  :  Finding  a  woman  in  Tinmouth  dread 
ing  to  have  a  painful  tooth  drawn,  in  order  to 
encourage  her  he  sat  down  and  had  one  of  his 
perfectly  sound  teeth  extracted. 

In  religion,  like  Horace  Greeley,  Allen  had 
reverence  for  the  Deity  but  none  for  the 
Bible.  In  this  he  was  not  alone,  for  Vermont, 
in  the  later  eighteenth  century,  presented  a 
curious  mixture  of  the  strictest  adherence  to 
the  letter  of  the  religious  law  and  absolute 
free-thinking. 

The  Universalists  in  1785  held  their  first 
American  convention  in  Massachusetts.  When 
this  doctrine  was  first  introduced  into  Ver- 


2O4  Ethan  Allen. 

113 ont,  John  Norton,  the  Westminster  tavern- 
keeper,  said  to  Ethan  Allen:  "That  religion 
will  suit  you,  will  it  not,  General  Allen?" 

Allen,  who  knew  Norton  to  be  a  secret  tory, 
replied  in  utter  scorn :  "  No !  no !  for  there 
must  be  a  hell  in  the  other  world  for  the  pun 
ishment  of  tories." 

President  Dwight  said :  "  Many  of  the  influ 
ential  early  Vermonters  were  professed  infi 
dels  or  Universalists,  or  persons  of  equally 
loose  principles  and  morals."  Judge  Robert 
R.  Livingston  wrote  Dr.  Franklin :  "  The  bulk 
of  Vermonters  are  New  England  Presbyterian 
whigs."  Daniel  Chipman  says:  "Great  num 
bers  of  the  early  settlers  were  of  the  set  of 
New-lights  or  Separates,  who  fled  from  perse 
cution  in  the  New  England  States  and  found 
religious  liberty  here." 

Before  Allen  took  Ticonderoga,  Vermont 
had  eleven  Congregational  and  four  Baptist 
churches.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  (1783- 
1 807)  towns  and  parishes  could  assess  taxes  for 
churches  and  ministers.  At  the  very  thresh 
old  of  Vermont's  existence  the  laws  had  a  Pu 
ritanic  severity.  "  High-handed  blasphemy" 
was  punished  with  death ;  while  fines  or  the 
stocks  were  the  rewards  of  profane  swearing, 


Death.  205 

drunkenness,  unseasonable  night- walking,  dis 
turbing  Sabbath  worship,  travelling  Sunday, 
gaming,  horse-racing,  confirmed  tavern-haunt 
ing,  mischievous  lying,  and  even  meeting  in 
company  Saturday  or  Sunday  evenings  except 
in  religious  meetings.  "  No  person  shall  drive 
a  team  or  droves  of  any  kind,  or  travel  on  the 
Lord's  day  (except  it  be  on  business  that  con 
cerns  the  present  war,  or  by  some  adversity 
they  are  belated  and  forced  to  lodge  in  the 
woods,  wilderness,  -or  highways  the  night  be 
fore) ,"  then  only  to  next  shelter.  The  wife  of 
the  Rev.  Sam.  Williams  was  arrested  in  New 
Hampshire  for  travelling  on  Sunday.  No 
Jew,  Roman  Catholic,  atheist,  or  deist  could 
take  the  oath  required  of  a  member  of  the 
legislature ;  for  that  oath  professed  belief  in 
the  Deity,  the  divine  inspiration  of  both  Testa 
ments,  and  the  Protestant  religion.  The  Rev. 
Samuel  Peters,  LL.D.,  sometimes  called  Bish 
op  Peters,  tells  us  the  Munchausen  story  that 
he  baptized  into  the  Church  of  England  1,200 
adults  and  children  amid  the  forests  of  Ver 
mont.  In  1790  Vermont  was  enough  of  a  dio 
cese  to  hold  a  convention  of  eight  parishes  and 
two  rectors. 

Bennington  was  the  early  nucleus  of  Ver- 


206  Ethan   Allen. 

mont  colonization.  Samuel  Robinson,  of  that 
town,  had  land  to  sell  both  in  Bennington  and 
the  adjoining  town  of  Shaftsbury.  It  is  said 
he  entertained  over  night  the  new  immigrants ; 
if  Baptists,  he  sold  them  land  in  Shaftsbury ; 
if  Congregationalists,  he  sold  them  land  in 
Bennington. 

What  visible  tokens  have  we  of  Vermont's 
pride  in  this  hero,  to  whom  she  is  so  much  in 
debted  for  her  existence  as  a  state  ? 

The  earliest  statue  of  Ethan  Allen  was  by 
Benjamin  Harris  Kinney,  a  native  of  Sunder- 
land.  It  was  modelled  in  Burlington  and  ex 
hibited  there  in  1852.  The  Rev.  Zadoc  Thomp 
son  said  of  it :  "  All  who  have  long  and  care 
fully  examined  his  statue  will  admit  that  the 
artist,  Mr.  Kinney,  our  respected  townsman, 
has  embodied  and  presented  to  the  eye  the 
ideal  in  a  most  masterly  manner."  The  Hon. 
David  Read  says:  "The  statue  was  exam 
ined  by  several  aged  people  who  had  person 
ally  known  Allen,  and  all  pronounce  it  an  ex 
cellent  likeness  of  him."  Henry  de  Puy  has 
an  engraving  of  this  statue  in  his  book  about 
Allen  in  1853.  This  statue  has  never  been 
purchased  from  Mr.  Kinney,  and  it  is  still  in 
his  possession. 


Death.  207 

The  two  statues  of  Allen  made  for  the  state 
are  the  work  of  Larkin  G.  Mead,  a  native  of 
Chesterfield,  N.H.,  reared  and  educated  in 
Brattleboro.  One  of  them,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  state-house  in  Montpelier,  is  of  Rutland 
marble.  The  other  one,  in  the  Capitol  at 
Washington,  is  of  Italian  marble. 

The  fourth  statue  was  unveiled  at  Burling 
ton,  the  4th  of  July,  1873.  It  was  made  at 
Carrara,  Italy,  after  a  design  by  Peter  Stephen- 
son,  of  Boston.  It  is  8  ft.  4  in.  high,  stands 
on  a  granite  shaft  42  ft.  in  height,  in  Green 
Mountain  Cemetery,  on  the  banks  of  the  Wi- 
nooski. 

"  Siste  viator!     Heroa  calcas!" 


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covering  a  neglected  period  of  American  history.  .  .  .   The  lessons  they  impart  are 
those  of  patriotism,  energy,  and  perseverance;    and  the  achievements  of  Sevier,  Rob 
ertson,  and  Shelby  are  surely  worth  the  serious  study  of  citizens  of  any  country  who 
seek  models  of  integrity,   patience,    courage,  and  self-sacrifice."  —  London  Morning- 
Post. 

"  The  narrative  needs  no  rhetorical  effect  to  set  forth  its  thrilling  and  heroic  facts." 
—  Chicago  Dial. 


T 


TWO  SPIES  :  Nathan  Hale  and  John  Andrt. 
By  BENSON  J.  LOSSTNG,  LL.  D.  Illustrated  with  Pen-and-ink 
Sketches.  Containing  also  Anna  Seward's  "  Monody  on  Major 
Andre."  Square  8vo.  Cloth,  gilt  top,  $2.00. 

"  The  comparison  between  Andre  and  Nathan  Hale  is  one  which  suggests  itself, 
and  which  has  often  been  made  ;  but  the  comparison  has  never  been  carried  out  so 
completely  or  with  such  thoroughness  of  historical  detail  as  in  this  interesting  volume." 
—  Christian  Union. 


New  York  :   D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


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HE  STORY  OF  WASHINGTON.  By  ELIZA 
BETH  EGGLESTON  SEELYE.  Edited  by  Dr.  Edward  Eggleston. 
With  over  100  Illustrations  by  Allegra  Eggleston.  A  new  vol 
ume  in  the  "  Delights  of  History  "  Series,  uniform  with  "  The 
Story  of  Columbus."  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.75. 

One  of  the  best  accounts  of  the  incidents  of  Washington's  life  for  young  people." 
York  Observer. 


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this  century,  but  the  man  Washington,  with  his  defects  as  well  as  his  virtues,  his  unat 
tractive  traits  as  well  as  his  pleasing  ones.  .  .  .  There  is  greater  freedom  from  errors 
than  in  more  pretentious  lives."  —  Chicago  Tribune. 

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many  readers  among  American  boys  and  girls."  —  Philadelphia  Times. 

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curacy,  and  if  the  first  President  loses  some  of  his  mythical  goodness  in  this  story,  the 
real  greatness  of  his  natural  character  stands  out  distinctly,  and  his  example  will  be  al] 
the  more  helpful  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  this  generation."  —  New  York  Churchman. 

"The  book  is  just  what  has  been  needed,  the  story  of  the  life  of  Washington,  a; 
well  as  of  his  public  career,  written  in  a  manner  so  interesting  that  one  who  begins 
ft*,  will  finish,  and  so  told  that  it  will  leave  not  the  memory  of  a  few  trivial  anecdotes  bj 


to  measure  the  man,  but  a  just  and  complete  estimate  of  him.  The  illustratons 
Are  so  excellent  as  to  double  the  value  of  the  book  as  it  would  be  without  them."— 
Chicago  Times. 

•J^HE  STORY  OF  COLUMBUS.  By  ELIZABETH 
-/  EGGLESTON  SEELYE.  Edited  by  Dr.  Edward  Eggleston.  With 
100  Illustrations  by  Allegra  Eggleston.  "  Delights  of  History  " 
Series.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.75. 

"A  brief,  popular,  interesting,  and  yet  critical  volume,  just  such  as  we  should  wisr. 
to  place  in  the  hands  of  a  young  reader.  The  authors  of  this  volume  have  done  theii 
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of  their  readers."  —  New  York  Independent. 

"  In  some  respects  altogether  the  best  book  that  the  Columbus  year  has  broughi 
out."  —  Rochester  Post-Express. 

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than  many  of  the  more  ambitious  works  on  a  similar  theme."  —  New  York  Journal  oj 
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"This  is  no  ordinary  work.  It  is  pre-eminently  a  work  of  the  present  time  and  of 
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"  Mrs.  Seelye's  book  is  pleasing  in  its  general  effect,  and  reveals  the  results  of 
painstaking  and  conscientious  study."  —  New  York  Tribune. 

"  A  very  just  account  is  given  of  Columbus,  his  failings  being  neither  concealed  noi 
magnified,  but  his  real  greatness  being  made  plain."  —  New  York  Examiner. 

"  The  illustrations  are  particularly  well  chosen  and  neatly  executed,  and  they  adc 
to  the  general  excellence  of  the  volume."  —  New  York  Times. 


New  York :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


D.  APPLETON  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

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General  James  Grant  Wih>on." — New  York  Mail  and  Express. 


/^REAT    COMMANDERS.       A   Series   of    Brief 

\~*      Biographies   of    Illustrious    Americans.       Edited    by    General 
JAMES  GRANT  WILSON.    12010,  cloth,  gilt  top,  $1.50  per  volume. 

This  series  forms  one  of  the  most  notable  collections  of  books  that  has 
been  published  for  many  years.  The  success  it  has  met  with  since  the  first 
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it  has  satisfactorily  fulfilled  its  purpose,  viz.,  to  provide  in  a  popular  form  and 
moderate  compass  the  records  of  the  lives  of  men  who  have  been  conspicu 
ously  eminent  in  the  great  conflicts  that  established  American  independence 
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but  a  rich  mine  of  valuable  information  for  the  student  of  American  history 
and  biography. 

The  volumes  of  this  series  thus  far  issued,  all  of  which  have  received  the 
highest  commendation  from  authoritative  journals,  are  : 

ADMIRAL   FARRAGUT.     By  Captain  A.  T.  MAHAN,  U.  S.  N. 
GENERAL   TAYLOR.      By  General  O.  O.  HOWARD,  U.  S.  A. 
GENERAL  JACKSON.     By  JAMES  PARTON. 
GENERAL  GREENE.    By  Captain  FRANCIS  V.  GREENE,  U.  S.  A. 
GENERAL  J.  E.  JOHNSTON.    By  ROBERT  M.  HUGHES,  of  Va. 
GENERAL   THOMAS.     By  HENRY  COPPEE,  LL.  D. 
GENERAL   SCOTT.     By  General  MARCUS  J.  WRIGHT. 
GENERAL  WASHINGTON.    By  Gen.  BRADLEY  T.  JOHNSON. 
GENERAL   LEE.     By  General  FITZHUGH  LEE. 
GENERAL   HANCOCK.     By  General  FRANCIS  A.  WALKER. 

These  are  volumes  of  especial  value  and  service  to  school  libraries,  either 
for  reference  or  for  supplementary  reading  in  history  classes.  Libraries, 
whether  public,  private,  or  school,  that  have  not  already  taken  necessary 
action,  should  at  once  place  upon  their  order-lists  the  GREAT  COMMANDERS 
SERIES. 

The  following  are  in  press  or  in  preparation  : 
General  Sherman.     By  General  MANNING  F.  FORCE. 
General  Grant.     By  General  JAMES  GRANT  WILSON. 
Admiral  Porter.     By  JAMES  F.  SOLEY,  late  Assistant  Sec'y  of  Navy. 
General  Sheridan.     By  General  HENRY  E.  DAVIES. 

"This  series  of  books  promises  much,  both  by  their  subjects  and  by  the  men  who 
have  undertaken  to  write  them.  They  are  just  the  reading  for  young  men  and  women ; 
delightful  reading  for  men  and  women  of  any  age." — The  Evangelist. 


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BOOKS  BY  HEZEKIAH  BUTTERWORTH. 


'TTHE  PATRIOT  SCHOOLMASTER.     A  Tale  of 

•*•        the  Minute  Men  and  the  Sons  of  Liberty.     With  6  full-page 
Illustrations  by  H.  WINTHROP  PEIRCE.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

In  this  stirring  historical  romance  the  stately  figure  of  Samuel  Adams 
succeeds  Lincoln  and  Washington  in  previous  books  as  the  central  figures, 
and  we  live  through  the  dramas  of  Boston's  occupancy  by  the  British,  and 
Bunker  Hill  and  Lexington.  It  is  a  story  infused  with  noble  patriotism,  and 
most  vividly  told. 

'N  THE  BOYHOOD  OF  LINCOLN.  A  Story  of 
the  Black  Hawk  War  and  the  Tunker  Schoolmaster.  With 
12  Illustrations  and  colored  Frontispiece.  I2mo.  Cloth, 
$1.50. 

"  There  is  great  fascination  in  these  glimpses  of  Lincoln's  early  life,  and  the  artist's 
accompanying  pictures  are  very  clever  and  welcome." — Brooklyn  Times. 

"  The  author  presents  facts  in  a  most  attractive  framework  of  fiction,  and  imbues 
the  whole  with  his  peculiar  humor.  The  illustrations  are  numerous  and  of  more  than 
usual  excellence." — New  Haven  Palladium. 

"One  of  the  best  stories  for  youthful  readers  that  has  ever  been  written." — Boston 
Budget. 

"A  work  which  should  be  put  into  the  hands  of  every  American  boy." — Philadel 
phia  Item. 

HE  BO  YS  OF  GREEN  WA  Y  CO  UR  T.     A  Story 

of  the  Early  Years  of  Washington.     With  lo  full-page  Illus 
trations.     I2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  Mr.  Butterworth  has  written  an  excellent  book,  and  one  that  young  people  will 
find  delightful  reading." — Boston  Beacon. 

"  Skillfully  combining  fact  and  fiction,  he  has  given  us  a  story  historically  instruc 
tive  and  at  the  same  time  entertaining."— Boston  Transcript. 

"  The  book  is  replete  with  picturesque  incidents  and  legends  of  hunting  exploits 
and  adventures,  and  the  figure  of  young  Washington  is  shown  in  a  light  which  will  be 
sure  to  enlist  the  interest  of  young  readers."—  Chicago  Herald. 

"  Mr.  Butterworth  has  made  his  story  both  absorbing  in  interest  and  valuable  as  a 
teacher  of  history." — San  Francisco  Argonaut. 

HE  LOG  SCHOOL-HOUSE  ON  THE  CO 
LUMBIA.  With  13  full-page  Illustrations  by  J.  CARTER 
BEARD,  E.  J.  AUSTEN,  and  others.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  This  book  will  charm  all  who  turn  its  pages.  There  are  few  books  of  popular 
information  concerning  the  pioneers  of  the  great  Northwest,  and  this  one  is  worthy  of 
sincere  praise." — Seattle  Post-Intelligencer. 

"  Mr.  Butterworth  always  interests  his  young  readers,  and  holds  their  attention 
from  first  to  last." — New  York  Independent. 

New  York  :   D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


T 


T 


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YOUNG   HEROES   OF   OUR   NAVY. 

T\ECATUR  AND   SOMERS.      By  MOLLY  ELLIOT 
•*—S  SEAWELL,  author  of  "Paul  Jones,"  "Little  Jarvis,"  etc.     With 
6  full-page  Illustrations  by  J.  O.  Davidson  and  Others.      I2mo. 
Cloth,  $1.00. 

There  is  no  more  thrilling  page  in  our  naval  history  than  that  which  re 
cords  the  heroic  destruction  of  the  Philadelphia,  and  the  matchless  but  ill- 
fated  expedition  led  by  Somers.  This  is  the  true  romance  of  history,  and 
boys  and  girls  will  be  better  Americans  after  reading  Miss  Seawell's  stirring 
book. 

DA  UL  JONES.    By  MOLLY  ELLIOT  SEAWELL.    With 

•*•         8  full-page  Illustrations.     I2mo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

"It  is  both  romance  and  history,  and  will  retain  the  attention  of  either  the  boy  or 
man  who  begins  to  read  this  account  of  the  most  dashing  sailor  that  ever  wore  a  uni 
form." — St.  Louts  Republic. 

"  A  concise,  clear  sketch  of  the  ranking  officer  of  the  Continental  marine,  who  in 
his  day  played  a  large  part  and  did  it  so  well  as  to  command  the  applause  of  every 
patriotic  American.  To  forget  the  name  of  Paul  Jones  would  be  an  act  of  national 
ingratitude." — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

"  Not  merely  as  interesting  as  any  novel,  but  a  good  deal  more  interesting  than 
most  novels." — New  York  Examiner. 

JI/TIDSHIPMAN  PAULDING.     A   true   story  of 
•iV-*    the  War  of  1812.     By  MOLLY  ELLIOT  SEAWELL.    With  6  full- 
page  Illustrations.     I2mo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

"The  story  is  told  in  a  breezy,  pleasant  style  that  can  not  fail  to  capture  the  fancy 
of  young  readers,  and  imparts  much  historical  knowledge  at  the  same  time,  while  the 
illustrations  will  help  the  understanding  of  the  events  described.  It  is  an  excellent  book 
for  boys,  and  even  the  girls  will  be  interested  in  it." — Brooklyn  Standard-Union. 

"  The  author  knows  how  to  tell  her  stories  to  captivate  the  boys,  and  the  character  of 
her  young  heroes  is  such  as  to  elevate  and  ennoble  the  reader." — Hartford  Even  g  Post. 


L 


ITTLE  JARVIS.  The  story  of  the  heroic  mid 
shipman  of  the  frigate  "Constellation."  By  MOLLY  ELLIOT 
SEAWELL.  WTith  6  full-page  Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.00. 

"  Founded  on  a  true  incident  in  our  naval  history.  ...  So  well  pictured  as  to  bring 
both  smiles  and  tears  upon  the  faces  that  are  bent  over  the  volume.  It  is  in  exactly  the 
spirit  for  a  boy's  book." — New  York  Monte  Journal. 

"  The  author  makes  the  tale  strongly  and  simply  pathetic,  and  has  given  the  world 
what  will  make  it  better." — Hartford  Courant. 

"  Not  since  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Kale's  classic,  'The  Man  without  a  Country,'  has 
there  been  published  a  more  stirring  lesson  in  patriotism."—  Boston  Beacon. 

"  It  is  what  a  boy  would  call  'a  real  boy's '  book." — Charleston  News  and  Courier. 


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GOOD   BOOKS   FOR   YOUNG   READERS. 

7OHN  BOYD'S  ADVENTURES.  By  THOMAS 
W.  KNOX,  author  of  "  The  Boy  Travelers,"  etc.  With  12  full- 
page  Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"The  hero  is  alternately  merchant,  sailor,  man-p'-war's-man,  privateer's  -  man, 
pirate,  and  Algerine  slave.  The  bombardment  of  Tripoli  is  a  brilliant  chapter  of  a 
narrative  of  heroic  deeds." — Philadelphia  Ledger. 

"We  venture  to  assert  that  no  boy  who  takes  up  the  story  of  John  Boyd  will  feel 
inclined  to  put  it  down  until  he  has  turned  the  last  page." — San  Francisco  Call. 

/I  LONG  THE  FLORIDA  REEF.  By  CHARLES 
•*•*  F.  HOLDER,  joint  author  of  "  Elements  of  Zoology."  With 
numerous  Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"The  reader  will  be  entertained  with  a  series  of  adventures,  but  when  he  is  done 
he  will  find  that  he  has  learned  a  good  deal  about  dancing  cranes,  corals,  waterspouts, 
sharks,  talking  fish,  disappearing  islands,  hurricanes,  turtles,  and  all  sorts  of  wonders 
of  the  earth  and  sea  and  air." — New  York  Sun. 


E 


NGLISHMAN'S  HA  YEN.  By  W.  J.  GORDON, 
author  of  "  The  Captain  -  General,"  etc.  With  8  full-page 
Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"The  story  of  Louisbourg,  which  because  of  its  position  and  the  consequences  of 
its  fall  is  justly  held  one  of  the  most  notable  of  the  world's  dead  cities.  The  story  is 
admirably  told." — Detroit  Free  Press. 

"  Full  of  exciting  adventure,  battle,  and  siege.  The  hero  is  a  brave  young  English 
boy  who  is  with  the  soldiers  at  the  fort."—  Chicago  Times. 

ALL.  A  story  of  outdoor  life  and  adventure 
in  Arkansas.  By  OCTAVE  THANET.  With  12  full-page  Illus 
trations  by  E.  J.  AUSTEN  and  others.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  A  story  which  every  boy  will  read  with  unalloyed  pleasure.  .  .  .  The  adventures 
of  the  two  cousins  are  full  of  exciting  interest.  The  characters,  both  white  and  black, 
are  sketched  directly  from  nature,  for  the  author  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  cus 
toms  and  habits  of  the  different  types  of  Southerners  that  she  has  so  effectively 
reproduced." — Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette. 


K 


ING  TOM  AND  THE  RUNAWAYS.  By 
Louis  PENDLETON.  The  experiences  of  two  boys  in  the 
forests  of  Georgia.  With  6  Illustrations  by  E.  W.  KEMBLE. 
I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"The  doings  of  'King'  Tom,  Albert,  and  the  happy-go-lucky  boy  Jim  on  the 
swamp  island,  are  as  entertaining  in  their  way  as  the  old  sagas  embodied  in  Scandi 
navian  story." — Philadelphia  Ledger. 


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Jl/fEMOIRS  ILLUSTRATING  THE  HISTORY 

1VJL  OF  NAPOLEON  I,  from  1802  to  1815.  By  Baron  CLAUDE- 
FRANgois  DE  MENEVAL,  Private  Secretary  to  Napoleon.  Ed 
ited  by  his  Grandson,  Baron  NAPOLEON  JOSEPH  DE  MENEVAL. 
With  Portraits  and  Autograph  Letters.  In  three  volumes. 
8vo.  Cloth,  $6.00. 

These  volumes  furnish  a  picture  of  Napoleon's  daily  life  which  is  believed 
to  be  unexcelled  in  point  of  closeness  of  observation  and  graphic  detail  by 
any  other  narrative.  That  Meneval  was  not  the  man  to  neglect  his  oppor 
tunities  is  shown  abundantly  by  the  glimpses  of  character  revealed  in  his 
diaries  and  notes.  Yet,  for  personal  and  other  reasons,  his  invaluable  recol 
lections  were  not  given  to  the  world.  They  have  been  treasured  by  his 
family  until  the  present  time  of  profound  interest  in  Napoleonic  history. 
Of  Napoleon's  relations  with  Josephine  and  Marie  Louise— of  all  the  features 
of  his  domestic  and  social  existence — Meneval  had  abundant  knowledge,  for 
he  shared  Napoleon's  private  life ;  and  since  he  was  sitting  at  the  fountain- 
head  of  information,  he  is  able  to  shed  new  light  on  many  features  of  the 
Napoleonic  campaigns.  His  narrative  is  most  interesting ;  its  historical 
importance  need  not  be  emphasized. 

"  The  Baron  de  Meneval  knew  Napoleon  as  few  knew  him.  He  was  his  confiden 
tial  secretary  and  intimate  friend.  .  .  .  Students  and  historians  who  wish  to  form  a 
trustworthy  estimate  of  Napoleon  can  not  afford  to  neglect  this  testimony  by  one  of  his 
most  intimate  associates." — London  News. 

"  These  memoirs,  by  the  private  secretary  of  Napoleon,  are  a  valuable  and  impor 
tant  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Napoleonic  period,  and  necessarily  they  throw 
new  and  interesting  liglit  on  the  personality  and  real  sentiments  of  the  emperor.  If 
Napoleon  anywhere  took  off  the  mask,  it  was  in  the  seclusion  of  his  private  cabinet. 
The  memoirs  have  been  republished  almost  as  they  were  written,  by  Baron  de  Meneval's 
grandson,  with  the  addition  of  some  supplementary  documents." — London  Times. 

"  Meneval  has  brought  the  living  Napoleon  clearly  before  us  in  a  portrait,  flattering, 
no  Joubt,  but  essentially  true  to  nature;  and  he  has  shown  us  what  the  emperor  really 
was  —at  the  head  of  his  armies,  in  his  Council  of  State,  as  the  ruler  of  France,  as  the  lord 
of  the  continent— above  all,  in  the  round  of  his  daily  life,  and  in  the  circle  of  family  and 
home." — London  Academy. 

"Neither  the  editor  nor  translator  of  M6neval's  memoirs  has  miscalculated  his  deep 
interest  -an  interest  which  does  not  depend  on  literary  style  but  on  the  substance  of  what 
is  related  Whoever  reads  this  volume  will  wait  with  impatience  for  the  remainder." — 
N.  Y.  Tribune. 

"The  work  will  take  rank  with  the  most  important  of  memoirs  relating  to  the  period. 
Its  great  value  arises  largely  from  its  author's  transparent  veracity.  Meneval  was  one 
of  those  men  who  could  not  consciously  tell  anything  but  the  truth.  He  was  constitu 
tionally  unfitted  for  lying.  .  .  .  The  book  is  extremely  interesting,  and  it  is  as  impor 
tant  as  it  is  interesting." — N.  Y.  Times. 

"  Few  memoirists  have  given  us  a  more  minute  account  of  Napoleon.  .  .  .  No  lover 
of  Napoleon,  no  admirer  of  his  wonderful  genius,  can  fail  to  read  these  interesting  and 
important  volumes  which  have  been  waited  for  for  years." — N.  Y.  World. 

"  The  book  will  be  hailed  with  delight  by  the  collectors  of  Napoleonic  literature,  as 
it  covers  much  ground  wholly  unexplored  by  the  great  majority  of  the  biographers  of 
Napoleon." — Providence  Journal. 


New  York :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


D.  APPLETON  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  The  True  Story  of  a  Great 

<**•    LIFE.    By  WILLIAM   H.   HERNDON  and  JESSE  W.  WEIK. 

With  numerous  Illustrations.     New  and  revised  edition,  with 

an  introduction  by  HORACE  WHITE.     In  two  volumes.     I2mo. 

Cloth,  $3.00. 

This  is  probably  the  most  intimate  life  of  Lincoln  ever  written.  The 
book,  by  Lincoln's  law-partner,  William  H.  Herndon,  and  his  friend  Jesse 
W.  Weik,  shows  us  Lincoln  the  man.  It  is  a  true  picture  of  his  surround 
ings  and  influences  and  acts.  It  is  not  an  attempt  to  construct  a  political 
history,  with  Lincoln  often  in  the  background,  nor  is  it  an  effort  to  apotheo 
size  the  American  who  stands  first  in  our  history  next  to  Washington.  The 
writers  knew  Lincoln  intimately.  Their  book  is  the  result  of  unreserved 
association.  There  is  no  attempt  to  portray  the  man  as  other  than  he  really 
was,  and  on  this  account  their  frank  testimony  must  be  accepted,  and  their 
biography  must  take  permanent  rank  as  the  best  and  most  illuminating  study 
of  Lincoln's  character  and  personality.  Their  story,  simply  told,  relieved 
by  characteristic  anecdotes,  and  vivid  with  local  color,  will  be  found  a  fasci 
nating  work. 

"Truly,  they  who  wish  to  know  Lincoln  as  he  really  was  must  read  the  biography 
of  him  written  by  his  friend  and  law-partner,  W.  H.  Herndon.  This  book  was  im 
peratively  needed  to  brush  aside  the  rank  growth  of  myth  and  legend  which  was 
threatening  to  hide  the  real  lineaments  of  Lincoln  from  the  eyes  of  posterity.  On  one 
pretext  or  another,  but  usually  upon  the  plea  that  he  was  the  central  figure  of  a  great 
historical  picture,  most  of  his  self-appointed  biographers  have,  by  suppressing  a  part 
of  the  truth  and  magnifying  or  embellishing  the  rest,  produced  portraits  which  those  of 
Lincoln's  contemporaries  who  knew  him  best  are  scarcely  able  to  recognize.  There  is, 
on  the  other  hand,  no  doubt  about  the  faithfulness  of  Mr.  Herndon's  delineation.  The 
marks  of  unflinching  veracity  are  patent  in  every  line." — New  York  Sun. 

"Among  the  books  which  ought  most  emphatically  to  have  been  written  must  be 
classed  'Herndon's  Lincoln.'" — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

"  The  author  has  his  own  notion  of  what  a  biography  should  be,  and  it  is  simple 
enough.  The  story  should  tell  all,  plainly  and  even  bluntly.  Mr.  Herndon  is  naturally 
a  very  direct  writer,  and  he  has  been  industrious  in  gathering  material.  Whether  an 
incident  happened  before  or  behind  the  scenes,  is  all  the  same  to  him.  He  gives  it 
without  artifice  or  apology.  He  describes  the  life  of  his  friend  Lincoln  just  as  he  saw 
it." — Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette. 

"  A  remarkable  piece  of  literary  achievement— remarkable  alike  for  its  fidelity  to 
facts,  its  fullness  of  details,  its  constructive  skill,  and  its  literary  charm."— New  York 
Times. 

"It  will  always  remain  the  authentic  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln." — Chicago  Herald. 

"The  book  is  a  valuable  depository  of  anecdotes,  innumerable  and  characteristic. 
It  has  every  claim  to  the  proud  boast  of  being  the  '  true  story  of  a  great  life.'" — Phila 
delphia  Ledger. 

"Will  be  accepted  as  the  best  biography  yet  written  of  the  great  President."— 
Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

"  Mr.  White  claims  that,  as  a  portraiture  of  the  man  Lincoln,  Mr.  Herndon's  work 
'will  never  be  surpassed.'  Certainly  it  has  never  been  equaled  yet,  and  this  new  edi 
tion  is  all  that  could  be  desired."— New  York  Observer. 

"The  three  portraits  of  Lincoln  are  the  best  that  exist;  and  not  the  least  charac 
teristic  of  these,  the  Lincoln  of  the  Douglas  debates,  has  never  before  been  engraved 
.  .  .  Herndon's  narrative  gives,  as  nothing  else  is  likely  to  give,  the  material  from 
which  we  may  form  a  true  picture  of  the  man  from  infancy  to  maturity.'  —  Tht  Nation. 


New  York  :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


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